Shermans Feldzug

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."

First off, I'm not sure what this movie has in common with "The Road Warrior," which is one of the movies recommended on the IMD "if you enjoyed this movie." This movie cannot be compared with most other films because it is a documentary about the search for one man's inner happiness. Ross McElwee is a filmmaker commissioned to make a movie about the Civil War. Right before he begins his odyssey, his girlfriend leaves him. He's stuck with a camera and no inspiration to follow Sherman's trail through the south. His new odyssey is quite different than any historical documentary, and thank God for it. It is so wonderfully entertaining and funny because McElwee is a well-spoken, charming and insightful filmmaker. And a natural comedian to boot! His struggle to find true love in the modern south plays like a country fried steak version of Woody Allen. And the women he encounters are nearly as unforgettable and entertaining. This film and his follow-up, Time Indefinite, seem to serve as his personal catharsis. Normally I would cringe at the thought of watching someone make a movie just to better him or herself. But I have yet to see a more personal and entertaining documentary than Sherman's March.

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.

Ross McElwee, a native Southerner, started off wanting to make a straightforward documentary film about General Sherman's march, but then his girlfriend broke up with him. The result is an idiosyncratic and personal documentary, as McElwee tries to film his Sherman movie but can only obsess about the various women he meets along the way, and his own personal failings.

"Sherman's March" is funny because of its many characters and lines of dialogue that are so crazy, you'd never believe them if they were in a fiction film. Best of all is Charleen, McElwee's former teacher, who is convinced that Ross just needs to sweep a girl off her feet--even if he's never met her before. And nearly all of the young women McElwee meets come across as kooky--two of them believe that the Apocalypse is imminent and another considers herself a "female prophet." Many of them are attached to men who also seem weird or distant. A feminist lawyer, whom McElwee considers the lost love of his life, wishes she could love him, but is instead obsessed with a guy who collects giant plastic animals. Like I said: you can't make this stuff up.

The Sherman theme crops up now and then, but McElwee could have done more with it. At one point he discusses the strength and courage displayed by the women of Atlanta when Sherman destroyed their city, then cuts to some footage of two self-absorbed actresses--you can't help thinking that Southern women have diminished in quality over the last 100 years. But he never picks up this thread again.

"Sherman's March" is a rambling movie, and at over 2.5 hours, way too long. And though McElwee's deadpan observations, delivered in voice-over, are frequently amusing, he is also a masochist, which diminishes our sympathy for him. He spends time on a near-deserted island, where he is tortured by mosquitoes, ticks, and the knowledge that the only two other people on the island are an attractive female linguist and her boyfriend. Later, he breaks things off with a hot musician (one of the few women who doesn't seem like a kook) in order to agonize over the aforementioned lawyer. Moments like these just make you frustrated with the filmmaker and his quest, not approving of it.

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