Uncertain is a beautifully shot documentary about the town of the same name in Texas, following some of its inhabitants on their day to day lives. Via the Guardian:
Wonder and horror stalk this remarkable documentary from film-makers Ewan McNicol and Anna Sandilands. Its setting is the tiny town of Uncertain (motto: “America’s best-kept secret”), a remote outpost that takes its name from its hazy status on the border of Texas and Louisiana. Recently though, the name has taken on a second meaning as the presence of an aggressive weed, salvinia molesta, has begun to afflict the lake that many of the town’s 96-strong population rely on for their livelihood.
This story of decay and ruin is positioned as a backdrop to profiles of three troubled residents: Henry, an old tour guide and fisherman coming to terms with both the death of his wife and a historic murder; Wayne, a recovering addict who is hunting a giant boar named Mr Ed (“The hog with the horse’s head”); and Zach, a young alcoholic with a severe case of diabetes who is keen to escape the rusting, dead-end town he reluctantly calls home.
It’s tempting to slap a “this explains the rise of Trump” tag on just about anything these days, and certainly there’s plenty of grist for that mill here: of that other US, ignored by elites, beset by addiction. (At a stretch, you might even try to draw something from the fact that the invasive fern disrupting the community has emerged from south of the border). But there’s also an unearthly quality at play. This is a realm that seems to pay scarce attention to the developments of the country at large. There’s glimpses of modernity (phones, laptops, games consoles), but for the most part it’s the old ways – hunting and fishing – that dominate.