Reconciling History

BISBEE '17 (A-minus) - Director Robert Greene has a flair for the avant garde, but his output has been hit ("Actress") and miss ("Kate Plays Christine"). Here his quirky style of storytelling pays off as he explores Bisbee, Arizona's, centennial celebration of -- and reconciliation with -- the union-busting campaign at the local mines in 1917.

Colorful local characters populate the story as they plan for the re-enactment of the labor dispute that pitted brother against brother and resulted in the expulsion of strikers by train across the New Mexico border and into exile. Greene takes dramatic liberties with the re-enactors, creating a dream-like quality at times, particularly during a surreal trip through the mines. The filmmaker has always had an eye for compelling actors, and here he alights on Fernando Serrano, a visually arresting young man portraying one of the striking miners. One extended tracking shot of Serrano walking through the streets and into a theater while gradually transforming into his character is worth the price of admission in this captivating historical document.

THE OTHER SIDE OF EVERYTHING (A) - This mesmerizing tone poem uses one family's story since World War II to catalogue the political history of Serbia and Yugoslavia through the decades. Director Mila Turajlic profiles her mother, activist Srbijanka Turajlic, cataloging the postwar years under Tito's communist Yugoslavia and later the Serbian nationalist movement, led by Slobodan Milosevic, which led to the breakup of the nation in the early 1990s.

Srbijanka, an academic, was on the front lines during the 1990s protesting the government (before briefly joining as education minister in the early aughts). The narrative device here, though, is the house that Srbijanka grew up in and raised Mila in. It was divided up after the war, as the Communists sought to redistribute wealth and create equal housing. The family was sealed off in one half while another family moved in on the other side of that sealed door. Through gorgeous cinematography (her own), Mila Turajlic elegantly dramatizes the political, psychological and emotional effects of that deprivation. And her examination of Milosevic's nationalist movement raises undeniable parallels to that movement's global creep in the present day. Even if you did not follow the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, you should appreciate this deeply moving history lesson.

HAL (B) - Maybe this is for fans only, but this is a loving portrait of an outsider whose films were so powerful that they broke through into Hollywood honors and mainstream acceptance. One of the joys of the documentary is the methodical march through the impressive string of great films directed by Hal Ashby at the forefront of the American New Wave in the 1970s, including "Harold & Maude," "Being There," and "Shampoo."

Amy Scott, an editor making her directing debut, keeps the format simple, pacing methodically through Ashby's '70s oeuvre. She employs a deep bench of insightful talking heads, including Jeff and Beau Bridges ("The Landlord"), Jane Fonda ("Coming Home"), and Cat Stevens, whose career took off, along with Ashby's, after they teamed up on "Harold & Maude." Ashby's early days as a film editor -- in particular his collaborations with Norman Jewison ("In the Heat of the Night," 1967, e.g.) -- and as a classic stoner are passionately covered. The downfall of his career and his premature death get glanced over somewhat, but Ashby was a colorful character, and this retrospective should deepen anyone's appreciation for his amazing run as a filmmaker.