Opens for a run on July 17

Coinciding with the theatrical release of his latest film Remake (also opening for a run at the JBFC on July 17), with which Sherman’s March is intimately related, this masterwork of American nonfiction returns to theaters in a new 4K restoration. One of the most successful and celebrated documentaries ever made, and influential for generations of filmmakers from Michael Moore to Penny Lane, Sherman’s March has lost none of its irreverent charm or power to surprise and move viewers.

After his girlfriend leaves him, McElwee takes a voyage along the original route followed by General William Sherman–but rather than cutting a swath of destruction designed to force the Confederate South into submission, as Sherman did, McElwee searches for love. Via narration and often hilarious on-screen testimonials, the director ingratiates himself with the viewer while also inviting (and orchestrating) our scrutiny and discomfort as he solicits advice from family and friends, and brings his camera to romantic situations. Improbably and thrillingly, Sherman’s March manages to fulfill the promise of being, per its extended title, “A Meditation on the Possibility of Romantic Love in the South During an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation.”