Point and Shoot

Point and Shoot is remarkable footage of the Arab Spring from an American man who briefly lived it. The trouble is that the man is a textbook unreliable narrator who has an odd, narcissistic streak.

Point and Shoot tells the story of Matt VanDyke, a Baltimore man in his late 20s or early 30s who is doted on by his mother and grandmother and lives at home. To prove that he is not a wimp, VanDyke decides he needs an adventure to understand "manhood." He decides to go on a motorcycle ride across the middle east and, through a variety of accidents and decisions over several years, ends up fighting with the Libyan rebels against Gaddafi. VanDyke films many of these encounters and ends up giving them to a full-time director when he returns to the U.S.

The footage is very interesting, and the documentary is well-edited. But VanDyke is troubling to watch for most of the film. For example, he asks a friend to film him trying to kill another man, and repeatedly focuses on how his actions in Syria affect his "manhood." VanDyke seems to be overly fascinated with his own image and at the same time unable to understand how poorly his actions will come across on camera. The documentary director does a good job of raising subtle questions about VanDyke's mental state.