Sherman's March

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yowch! Some of these comments are so negative! The anonymity of the internet seems to have spawned this new subculture of jaded dissing. I've seen "Sherman's March" four times (and its sequel, "Time Indefinite," twice) and loved it every time. It's true that this movie is very slow, very long, and very subtle, but those are not necessarily flaws. If you watch "Sherman's March" with that it mind, it can be a tremendously rewarding experience - touching, subtly funny, and thought-provoking. Ross McElwee will never have the commercial viability of Quentin Tarantino or Arnold Schwartzenegger or whoever, but I don't think his "home movies" are intended to be viable. They're just intended to be good old-fashioned well-crafted art. Some people get mad when movies have no freakishly attractive people or satisfyingly pat endings or giant explosions, and some people feel grateful. This movie is for the latter camp.