Moving Midway (2008/First Run Features DVD)
Picture: C
Sound: C+ Extras: C Documentary: C+
Slavery is a tough issue to deal with, but even odder is
dealing with the legacy of the Southern Plantation, large sprawling lands whose
beauty hid the terror of human slavery which was the main source of its
wealth. Besides the debate of
reparations and justice, there are the actual locations. The ones that stand can be the most disturbing of landmarks, yet
they have their important history that cannot be ignored. Godfrey Cheshire deals with some of this in Moving
Midway (2008) when one suddenly needs to be relocated.
The
program takes the materials and situation seriously and it turns out the white
owners had it as their home long after slavery was abolished. However, as it moves on, so much is
predictable. Racism remains, there are
more “mixed-race” births than anyone wants to admit and denial is the end of
the road the lies and insults that make this an uncomfortable situation for so
many to begin with. I thought the
coverage of myths surrounding plantations were overly simple and could have
been handled in a richer way, but the uneven work still manages to be worth a
look and could be the beginning of such works.
Obviously, the untold stories are many and numerous.
The 1.33
X 1 image originated on analog NTSC video with some archive footage on film and
video, plus many stills throughout, but it is all softer overall than it should
be with more aliasing than expected. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is simple stereo at best from the location sound in
particular. Extras include bonus scenes,
more interviews, stills, text filmmaker bios and DVD-ROM PDF access to two
related articles.
- Nicholas Sheffo
