Doc Corner: Mayles' In Transit is a Stunning Achievement
Tuesday, June 7, 2016 at 12:00PM Glenn here. Each Tuesday we bring you reviews and features on documentaries from theatres, festivals, and on demand. This week we look at the final work of Albert Maysles, In Transit.
Last week we looked at Chantal Akerman's final film, and this week completely by accident I am reviewing another final film by another towering name in documentary filmmaking. In a career that includes Grey Gardens, Salesman, Gimme Shelter, and Monterey Pop, Albert Maysles has made many films that are considered among the greatest non-fiction titles ever made. And while last year’s glimpse into the life of aging fashion icon Iris Apfel, Iris, was billed as his last work, it is in fact this deeply searching piece of cinema verite made in collaboration with Lynn True, David Usui, Nelson Walker III, and Benjamin Wu that is his last work and an incredibly fitting one, too. It’s the work of a documentarian unmistakably trying to grasp as much experience in the world and revel in the unique people and share it with audiences before its too late.
The beginning of In Transit informs us that the Empire Builder is America’s longest and busiest passenger rail, constantly shuffling people between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. The roaming cameras latch onto individuals just long enough to hear their story before moving on over its brisk 76-minute runtime and few are offered more than a few minutes of screen time at most. [more...]
Of course, the title suggests not just the transport these people find themselves on, but the journey of transition that most struggle with. There is the man who tells of how his smart-arse boss will be scratching his head wondering where he is, unaware he has picked up his life and moved cross-country without notice. There’s the nine-months pregnant woman fleeing an abusive home to be with her family in Minneapolis who strikes up an unlikely friendship with a war veteran photographer who isn’t telling her the truth of his situation. There’s the woman returning from visiting for the first time the daughter she gave up for adoption 47 years ago because of her violent husband and another who uses the train ride to contemplate her place in life as always having been somebody’s daughter, wife, or mother, and never her own self. There are the North Dakota oil field workers venturing home after months away and the African American man who finds himself sitting opposite a civil rights campaigner who marched alongside Martin Luther King, Jr.
While there are occasional establishing shots that juxtaposes the hulking piece of tin with the nature and the concrete cityscapes that it cuts through, there’s little time for the cameras of Maysles and his collaborators to focus on the picturesque (although when it does, it’s predictable gorgeous given the landscapes outside). It is a film far more concerned with people and I found myself with tears in my eyes more than once. And as Lynn True’s sublime editing criss-crosses between stories and finds unexpected parallels, the film's mood mimics the quiet and contemplative rhythm and hums of a long-haul train trip.
Despite a list of co-directors, In Transit ultimately feels unmistakable like a work of Maysles. I’m unaware as to how far along in his sickness Maysles was when he made this or if he knew he was dying when making it, but it’s a rich and powerfully compelling film that speaks to his skills as a documentarian as much as it does his spirit as a human being. All he wanted to do was tell the stories of the often ordinary people that fascinating him and with In Transit he found a way to make it as soulful as possible. It’s one of his finest works and one that I can feel myself revisiting for the warmth it emits. It’s a simple yet perfect close.
Release: Unfortunately the demise of Al Jazeera, the film's production company, means it hangs in distribution limbo. It has nonetheless been appearing on the festival circuit since its premiere at 2015's Tribeca Film Festival.
Oscar: Oscar doesn't too often strike a fancy for these observational sorts, but Maysles was never nominated for a documentary feature Oscar (!) so you never know.
Reader Comments (3)
I hope this gets a release - I've taken the Empire Builder all the way from Chicago to Seattle and it was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. Can't wait to see what Maysles and co. made of it.
I saw this at the recent American Independents Film Festival (where I assume you saw it too) by accident, as it conveniently fit a gap between two other movies. (Apart from the retrospective first Kelly Reichardt movie,) this was my favourite of the festival. Everything you say is so true, and I want to fly half way around the world now just to go on this train trip!
Travis, yes I saw it at the American Independents fest. I'm keen to take the journey next time I am in America.