When I first saw the IMDB description of FIg Trees I really wasn't that interested in seeing it since it sounded like an important but dull film. This fall I purchased John Greyson's box set, Impatient, which includes Fig Trees and I, and the IMDB description of it, couldn't have been more wrong. First off forget about what you think a documentary is, this isn't that. Yes it's based on interviews with Zachy, who did conduct an AIDS medication strike since the meds available to him were not available to most South Africans, as well as interviews with others involved in the fight for accessible AIDS medications. But the interviews are only part of it, for lack of a truly accurate description it's also a genre busting operatic historical docu-dramedy. Describing it like that makes it sound slightly ridiculous instead of dull but there's nothing ridiculous about Fig Trees, at least there's nothing unintentionally ridiculous about it, parts of it are really quite funny and absurd while other parts are heartbreaking. It's much like life in that regards. I've never before seen any film, documentary or otherwise, even remotely like it. John Greyson is sometimes called an experimental film maker which I, a person who just enjoys watching movies but doesn't study them, believe is an accurate description of his work and Fig Trees in particular.
Fig trees is a truly beautiful movie, it's sound and imagery stunning. It's not just an experimental documentary but an experiential one as well. At least I certainly felt overwhelmed at times when Zachy and others fighting for accessible meds surely felt overwhelmed. At times there's just so much happening on the screen it's impossible to take it all in, some scenes are overwhelming to watch like similar to how overwhelming they were for the real people who lived through those situations. Other scenes are calm, serene, and contemplative. The absurdity of other situations are similarly well conveyed. Much of the story of the fight for accessible meds is told through intertwined stories of saints, artists, and activists by way of opera that doesn't take itself too seriously. The interviews are of course the core of the story, but the rest helps put them in context.
It's easily one of John Greyson's best movies and continues with the themes of truth and justice found in almost all his work I don't usually write reviews but there are no others and it's plot description on here doesn't come close to accurately describing it. Though in fairness I'm not sure it's possible to accurately describe Fig Trees. Yes it's a documentary but one completely unlike any other.
