Back in the mid- to late-nineties or possibly early 2000s on PBS (would have been either WNET-13 i or WLIW-21 in here NY), I remember seeing a documentary, or perhaps a few of them, by a director whose name I unfortunately can’t remember. Yeah, I know, that’s real helpful, huh? Okay, more details:
The hallmark of these films was that the director would basically set up a group of cameras throughout a U.S. town, IIRC either rural, remote (e.g. up in Maine or New Hampshire), or perhaps one dominated by a single industry (such as coal mining or textile mills) – and basically just shoot God-only-knows how many hours of film to produce a multi-hour documentary without any voiceover or narrative. It was basically similar to a bird’s eye view of life in this particular town, except not bird’s eye, more like… mailbox’s eye.
I seem to recall this director did a few of these films, and I also remember that despite the utter lack of a particular POV (aside from whatever the director chose to include in the film, which obviously did impose somewhat of a narrative or perspective), the unvarnished, simple story of life in this town was fascinating.
For a while I thought I might be thinking of David Sutherland, director of The Farmer’s Wife and The Country Boys for Frontline. I’m watching the latter on PBS’s website now for the first time; the Farmer’s Wife doc isn’t available, unfortunately, but it was incredibly powerful tale about the hardships of a smallish farm relying on bank loans that always seemed to be coming due, and a wife’s attempt to keep the family fed and together while the husband seemed – IIRC – always reaching too far for his abilities or past their means.
But Sutherland does impose narrative and does interview his subjects, so as much as I love his work, he’s not the guy I’m thinking of.
The doc might have shown up on Frontline, like the Sutherland films, but all I remember is watching it late at night, mesmerized by the tiny day to day moments of a town very far removed from my own urban and suburban experiences.
Does anyone know whom I mean?