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02/09/06
Bright Leaves (2004)
86 %
Reviews Counted: 57 Fresh: 49 Rotten:8 Average Rating: 7.4/10
Consensus:
A rich, eccentric documentary about both filmmaking and the tobacco industry.
Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins
Synopsis: Ross McElwee directs this autobiographical documentary about his family's roots in the tobacco business in North Carolina. Taking a sabbatical from his home in Boston, he offers a culturally interesting history of the South as viewed through the biggest, wealthiest tobacco enterprises.... [More]
Genre: Education/General Interest
Reviews
Top Critic
The filmmaker's rich, husky-voiced narration manages to shape this collection of half-formed ideas and observations into a tightly packed little roll-up that's worth taking a puff on.
10/06/04
Top Critic
This is a highly personal journey, reminiscent of a smart, sardonic personal essay you might find in Harper's magazine or a quirky, savvy radio piece on NPR's 'This American Life.'
09/08/06
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05/26/06
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02/07/06
Touches on serious matters with a sly, self-deprecating sense of humor that makes receiving its messages a pleasure rather than a chore.
05/02/05
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04/30/05
Top Critic
Ross McElwee ambles through one tobacco-related subject after another... it's too scattered all over the place to be truly informative.
04/29/05
Bright Leaves is not the kind of film that thetruth.com would use in its anti-smoking campaign.
04/28/05
A meandering riff on the dangerous allure of smoking, and more interestingly a meditation on the way motion pictures can preserve our life experiences-- but only to a point.
03/05/05
The filmmaker narrates with droll, front-porch wit, and eases his way into the viewer's heart by sharing a hefty portion of his own.
01/26/05
McElwee’s examination of tobacco culture shows concern but not condescension.
01/14/05
Bright Leaves is a beguiling film. Watching it is like spending time with an old, somewhat chatty but endearing friend.
12/03/04
Twin concerns of family and place collide perfectly in McElwee's first film in seven years.
12/03/04
It's a meandering visit by a curious man with a quiet sense of humor.
12/03/04
Top Critic
McElwee's autobiographical films ... are leisurely jaunts with a gentle humor that never mocks his subjects.
12/02/04
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