I caught “All Light, Everywhere” at this past January’s Sundance Film Festival. The reason why I didn’t bother writing anything about it is because, quite simply, it isn’t a very good essay film. The monotone-ness hampers down director Theo Anthony’s tackling of observational technology, and surveillance, specifically the powers and limitations that come in policing bodycams. Episodic in nature, we glimpse at an assortment of moments that are supposed to connect thematically; there’s a storeroom that creates tasers and police body cameras, training sessions for officers who wear these gadgets, the story of camera pigeons in WWI and finally the history of the camera during the 19th century. Have these technological lenses turned into a dangerous tool for illegal and unwarranted surveillance? Taking a mostly neutral approach, Anthony, who concocted 2010’s far superior “Rat Film,” gets bogged down in frustrating grey areas rather than creating a forceful thesis. Anthony's film lacks focus and instead introduces its topics via bland presentation. The result is a half-baked collage. Is it warning against surveillance? AI? Information control? The setup and conclusions are incredibly ambiguous and frustrating, almost scattershot, if you will.
Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
Featured
