Sherman's March

The "alternative" title Ross McElwee initially came up with captures the mood of the film very well as it was called:

"Sherman's March: A Meditation to the Possibility of Romantic Love in the South during an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation".

Originally McElwee set out to make a documentary following the route General Sherman took during the Civil War and investigate the impact he had on the lives of people past and present who live there, but somehow he ended up marking the lives of past girlfriends and practically every other woman he meets on his journey, interwoven with occasional bits of history.

The film is quite funny in it's own way as well. Charleen, a former schoolteacher of him (if I remember correctly) contributes to some of the funniest moments. She continuously introduces Ross to girls from her seemingly inexhaustible stable of eligible women. One of them even is - without Charleen knowing it - a Mormon! And there's a hilarious subplot involving Burt Reynolds, who increasingly becomes McElwee's nemesis.

Wisely, he trimmed the original title a bit, which he perhaps could have done with the movie itself, which is a bit long, 155 minutes, but it doesn't matter much, especially when watching it at home. At times it can get slow but you just have to settle with his own pace, rhythm and his unique cinematographic style and you will be rewarded. The conversations, the nuclear threat, the clothes and hairdos, it also makes a wonderful time capsule of the 80's. Combined with the occasional touch of history and the wonderful voice-over narration of Ross McElwee, this is a truly inspiring journey of almost epic proportions. Highly recommended.

Camera Obscura --- 9/10

Ill admit it.......I liked the three hours of woman chasing and obsession. Ross begins his documentary intent on the journeys of W. Sherman. Sherman was a southerner turned "yankee" during the civil war. Sherman's march through most of Georgia and the Carolina's left a painful scar of our country in troubled times. Ross parallels this scar to that of his present day life. Present day 1986 that is. And quite easily, this documentary changes tone as Ross becomes obsessed with the women he encounters on the way. At times he does jump back to "Sherman's March", but the lure of lust and love prove to be too much for Ross.

After seeing this movie, I ask myself, What did I just see? It took a while to think about this documentary, and it opens up thoughts of life and love. I really want to know if this was calculated to document a mans love of women, or a mans love of war. Sit down, watch, and be amazed by the documentation of life in this era, by following the path of a civil war leader.

This is a great doc just out on DVD. Ross McElwee originally set out to shoot a documentary following General Sherman's Civil War path in the south, but then decided to shift the focus, upon a break-up with his girlfriend, to the various single women he comes across while ambling through the south. In the purest of D.I.Y. film-making, McElwee stars, operates the camera, handles sound, and narrates...all at the same time! On the surface, this loose and rambling documentary might appear too self indulgent, but it does indeed succeed its task of tracking General Sherman's historic march, albeit in a most unique way. It's the documentary equivalent of "Adaptation."

I love this film. I remember seeing it years ago on a NYC PBS station on a rainy night and I was immediately drawn into it. A southern documentary filmmaker starts to make his film about Civil War General Sherman but he breaks up with his girlfriend and goes back home down south and starts filming everyone in his life (his parents, his siblings, his friends) and they are all giving him advice on his struggling film career and his love life and they all try and fix him up with all these "southern belles" and he just films it all. It is fascinating and funny and real. Well, as real as life can be when you know someone has a film camera on their shoulder and they are filming you. I also highly recommend the two follow-ups to this "Time Indefinite" and "The Six O'Clock News". Ross McElwee is an incredibly talented filmmaker and a sweet, neurotic human being who has no trouble baring his soul on film. Check this film out.

McElwee has done many other similar works, some more deeply moving -- the one about his father the doctor, for instance. But this gives a great introduction to his "style" -- the guy who takes the camera everywhere and films his life, and not just in trivial ways -- ala web cams today. A tribute to women -- and women rate it much higher than men, as the imDb voting demographics show. This pre-dated the well-known and wildly successful "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" -- some would call it an outright steal or rip-off of "Sherman's March." As far as I know, McElwee had nothing to do with and is not credited in "Sex, Lies, and Videotape. "Sherman's March" clearly influenced "SL & V," to put things more mildly. SL&V has marketing written all over it, from the title to the stars (admittedly not as famous during the time of the shoot as now), and in its focus on sex and masturbation, particularly. "Sherman's March" has indie-film written all over it; it's not about stars, only indirectly about sex, and everyone plays themselves: it's a documentary. I liked all of that and it was a fresh approach when it first came out. Most such films are not done skillfully, thoughtfully, or edited well enough to make for excellent viewing. You may or may not like McElwee personally; he's a bit of an odd-ball, but a kindly one. His women friends are the focus here, however, and he wisely gets out of the way most of the time. Well worth your time.