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Reviews for June 17th, 2010


45365

Directed by Bill Ross IV & Turner Ross.



This gently captivating documentary focuses on the day-to-day life in Sidney, Ohio, a small town with nearly 20,000 residents located forty miles outside of Dayton. Its policeman drives on his way to arrest a young man who has gotten into trouble with the law before. A resident explains to a police officer that he believes that someone must have cut his cable wires because he’s unable to receive cable service. Another resident points out the bat infestation in his barn. High school athletes play football. A teenager has issues with her boyfriend which she deals with while talking to him her cell phone. A radio DJ talks and changes music on the radio. A local judge warmly greets residents as part of his campaign for re-election. Those are just some of the footage that co-directors Bill and Turner Ross include to paint a portrait of their hometown of Sydney, zipcode 45365. All of the images, sounds and daily interactions take roughly 30 minutes to be immersed by you, the viewer, because there’s no clear-cut connection between the amalgamation of different, seemingly random footage and there's no narration to be found either. What better way to capture the essence of Sidney by merely filming its inhabitants and their homes, school, radio station, barbershop and other locations that make up the town? The images alone speak volumes about the town in ways that narration wouldn’t do any justice for. You’ll often feel like somewhat of a voyeur as you watch the townspeople going about their day or night, whether a father is interacting with his son or mother explains the rough childhood of her son who’s about to be go to jail. Co-directors Bill and Turner Ross wisely trust the audience’s intelligence, so they don’t force-feed you with their own thoughts about the town, although there is the inclusion of police officer who perceptively states that younger generations tend to follow older generations when it comes to the crimes that they commit, so they never change fundamentally. At a running time of 1 hour and 30 minutes, 45365 is a quietly enchanting, captivating, visually striking and narration-less mosaic of Sidney, Ohio.
Number of times I checked my watch: 3
Released by Seventh Art Releasing.
Opens at the Anthology Film Archives.





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