"Anytown, USA"

My son Aaron occasionally sings with his friend John Len Sikes at open mike in

upper Manhattan. Len is a documentary filmmaker, and produced "Anytown, USA",

which we recently rented from Netflix. In spite of being an "indie" and limited

budget film, I thought it to be very well done, and worth watching. It is a

documentary on a Mayoral campaign in Bogota, NJ, near Hackensack and Teaneck.

As a film it kept me engaged throughout, and as a documentary, I felt it did not

seem to have been predisposed to a particular point of view in advance. On the

contrary, as I watched it my sympathies evolved as the campaign unfolded. Late

in the game I was able to predict the outcome, but only minutes before it was

revealed by the film. Even the suspense of that was well managed, and the real

reactions of the candidates especially interesting. It was a fascinating (and

genuine I believe) glimpse into small town politics.

The film itself seemed quite professional, with good editing and camera work

throughout. I'm thinking in particular of one scene where candidate Musikant is

addressing an audience of a half-dozen citizens, that was humorous without being

heavy handed, poignant, and very effective. There were other scenes like this;

some left me wincing (e.g at the school meeting where Lohnegrin claps alone at

the end of an outraged citizen's diatribe), and helped establish why he was so

disliked. I also thought the access to citizens and candidates was

extraordinary, and gaining the kind of trust implied was also laudable.

Thanks, John.

I like movies that cause me to wince, though not necessarily at the moment I'm wincing.