Clio Barnard's THE ARBOR

My review of Clio Barnard's amazing documentary The Arbor is up on In Review Online. I've watched this film four times of the past 6 months and it continues to grow on me exponentially. As I mentioned in my halftime post, it is easily one of my favorite films of the year so far.

I gave The Arbor a four star review in the Star Tribune for an MSPIFF capsule, trying as hard as I could to maximize praise without fluff or hyperbole. Shortly after, I was randomly talking to a stranger at one of my various jobs about the films she had seen at MSPIFF, and she said, "Did you see that one...what was it called...it got a really good review...but really depressing!" I had to take responsibility and sort of explain myself beyond the 100 words I was allotted for the Strib. It seems fitting that I took the time to flesh out a longer review and am glad I did.

Although it has already passed the Twin Cities by, playing at MSPIFF a couple months ago, The Arbor comes out on DVD September 6. Be sure to check it out!