Sherman's March

UPC: 720229910972

Studio: First Run Features

Summary: A disarmingly engaging personal documentary, Sherman's March is a portrait of a man in personal crisis that is also an often hilarious ode to Southern women. Filmmaker Ross McElwee states in the film's opening shots that, as a native Southerner, he had always been fascinated with the psychological effect that Union General William Tecumseh Sherman has had on the region. To that end, he intended to make a film that would retrace the route of the general's famous march that brought so much devastation to the Confederacy, talking with contemporary Southerners about the Civil War. But just before he leaves his New York apartment to begin the shoot, McElwee learns that his girlfriend has left him, and his journey turns into one of self-examination through the women he encounters. Some are old friends -- the most memorable being Charleen Swansea, a teacher determined to find Ross a good woman -- and some are new acquaintances, including an aspiring actress and a survivalist. McElwee occasionally turns the camera on himself for late-night musings over the day's events. Sherman's March was a sleeper hit when it was released, and its reputation has grown with strong word of mouth. McElwee's next film Time Indefinite was also a personal story, about his own family, though with less of the ingratiating humor of Sherman's March. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

Category: Culture & Society

Awards: Grand Jury Prize - Documentary – Sundance Film Festival U.S. National Film Registry – Library of Congress

Features: Interview with Ross McElwee
Selections from other McElwee films
General Sherman's personal letters
Photo gallery
Biographies
Chapters

Sherman's March

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 04/06/2004

Runtime: 155 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. The March Begins [2:45]
2. Finding a Nice Southern Girl [9:24]
3. Pat Demonstrates Cellulite Excercises [11:48]
4. Audition in Atlanta [8:57]
5. Alone in Atlanta [10:46]
6. Palm Sunday [4:23]
7. Survivalists in the Mountains [6:39]
8. Confessions of a Faux-Confederate [6:25]
9. Linguistics and Sex [3:02]
10. The Blood-Sucking Cone Noses [10:29]
11. Protesting Plutonium [8:38]
12. This Is Not Art. This Is Life! [:00]
13. The Cradle of Southern Womanhood [13:48]
14. An Ardent Groupie [8:15]
15. One More Person to See [14:18]
16. Dreams of Apocalypse [11:25]
17. A Nemesis in Town [10:40]
18. Back Up North [6:00]
19. End Credits [5:28]

Tom Wiener

The success of any autobiographical film lies in the ability of the filmmaker to ingratiate himself with the viewer, and to provide a reason beyond the filmmaker's nose why we should care about his or her problems. The premise of Sherman's March doesn't seem promising. Ross McElwee is a self-described loser at love who, instead of making a potentially provocative film about a historical event that shaped a region, sets out to look up old girlfriends or make a few new ones. But McElwee possesses an abundance of the self-deprecating charm that made the early films of Woody Allen so popular. McElwee might be seen as a transition figure from Allen to the self-obsessed comedy of Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. The difference between those native New Yorkers and McElwee, a Southerner transplanted to New York, is that McElwee looks outside himself to discover the wonderful world of Southern women, whom this film makes clear are a breed apart. Sassy, demure, paranoid, confident, catty, generous, and imperious are a starter kit to describe the females McElwee encounters on his own march through his homeland. He can't figure them out, but it's a joy to watch him try. Few filmmakers inspired by Sherman's March to turn cameras on themselves have understood that without that extra dimension, many personal documentaries wind up as so much navel-gazing. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Charleen Swansea  Actor 
Ross McElwee  Director 
Ross McElwee  Actor 

Country: USA