In Moving Midway, film critic Godfrey Cheshire turns a camera on himself and his North Carolina-based extended family after a decision is made to physically relocate the antebellum ancestral home Midway Plantation from its current location amidst encroaching noisy suburban sprawl to an as yet undetermined bucolic setting elsewhere in the state. The challenges of literally moving the plantation are actually the least of the problems, as further commotion arises from complications related to a “plantation ghost,” mixed feelings on the part of the Cheshire clan, and the unexpected discovery of an African-American branch of the family (the descendants of a liaison between the filmmaker's great-great-great-grandfather and a slave). Moving Midway covers a great deal of territory, stirring together issues related to race, history, culture, and socioeconomic divisions with loads of personal observations from various parties involved in this real-life drama. As a family portrait, Moving Midway is sometimes less-than-compelling (even the first meeting between long-estranged white and black relatives is a little underwhelming, despite the drumbeat buildup by the filmmaker), but as a dissection of Dixie life, the film is often quite compelling (reminding viewers that the past has never truly disappeared from the Deep South). DVD extras include bonus scenes and interviews, as well as a photo gallery. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
Moving Midway
(2008) 98 min. DVD: $24.95. First Run Features (avail. from most distributors). Volume 24, Issue 3
Moving Midway
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