Photographic Memory

In his first documentary since 2008's In Paraguay, renowned American docu-memoirist and Harvard professor Ross McElwee crosses the Atlantic to muse upon life, family, fatherhood, and remembrances of time past. Although McElwee's son Adrian has an interest in filmmaking (mostly extreme-sports stunts via social media), teenage rebellion has left the once-personable boy sulky and argumentative. McElwee recalls his own young manhood as a vagabond photographer in 1970s France, a path that dismayed his surgeon father. Here, McElwee decides to revisit the village in Brittany where he apprenticed with a jazz- and philosophy-loving French shutterbug (who fired him under mysterious circumstances), while also seeking to reunite with a former lover—captivating in photos—whose surname he doesn't even remember. Viewers who have followed McElwee's canon throughout the years may be disappointed that he has abandoned his customary 16mm camera for more easily portable digital-video and laptop equipment (although he still loves the tactile quality of film and chemical photography—and mistrusts memory-chip cards). But aside from this minor change, Photographic Memory is another compelling personal odyssey from one of nonfiction cinema's most self-effacing and thoughtful name-brand stars. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)