In Brief: The Other Side (2015)

Roberto Minervini's THE OTHER SIDE opened this year's Art of the Real and it returns for a regular engagement this Friday. This documentary/fiction hybrid is infinitely more real than the vast majority of straight on documentaries. If you love the documentary form then you must see this.

Actually if you just want to see a good film you should see this.

THE OTHER SIDE is a slice of life look at a group of people living below the poverty line. Going through their daily routines, hanging out,firing guns  and doing what they have to to get by the people in the film reveal themselves to be exactly like everyone else.

I really like this film a great deal, I like that to my mind I can't really review the film or discuss it as if it were a wholly fictional work because in my mind this is life. All of this happened and how do you critique reality? Its not really possible- I mean I'm not going to show up at your house and go "You know what Ted, I give your life two and a half stars. I don't believe that you wouldn't go out with Barbara". You can't do it. And you can't do it here, this is life.

The highest praise possible is this is real life and if you want to get away from your own go see THE OTHER SIDE since it' the closest you'll get to living someone else's life short of virtual reality or a brain transplant.