Director:
Frederick Wiseman
IMDB
Synopsis:
With Domestic Violence, master documentarian Frederick Wiseman (High School, Titicut Follies) turns his unflinching eye on a topic that society has ignored for far too long. Rather than film actual domestic disputes, a la COPS, Wiseman instead takes a much less exploitative approach, and, in so doing, has created a deeply intelligent, challenging work that will no doubt spark serious discussions wherever it is exhibited (most likely on PBS, with whom the director has a longstanding relationship). Focusing on The Spring, Tampa, which is Florida's largest shelter for abused women and their children, Wiseman's objective camera allows a group of these distraught women to tell their own painful stories. As each new victim bravely shares her tale of horror, it becomes painfully clear just how convoluted and troubling a problem domestic violence actually is, a claim that Wiseman supports technically, through his use of extremely long takes and unobtrusive editing. At 196 minutes, the experience is a draining one, to say the least. But it is stimulating in a way that most films, documentary or otherwise, are not. Staying true to the formula that has made him a cinematic legend, Frederick Wiseman proves once again that there is far more drama in everyday life than in the multiplexes.
