To say The Other Side is obscure would be a gross understatement. It took me a few hours to figure out how I could even get ahold of this documentary on a back woods, podunk area of Louisiana. While I think it could have been done better and my final score probably won't endorse what I'm about to write, I think it's a documentary that everyone should sit through at least once. The cultural implications are eye-opening and powerful.
For the majority of the documentary, you get a look into the lives of Mark and Lisa, a couple addicted to meth. While they live in a humble home, their opinions about the state of America's society, particulary Mark's, are very bold and outspoken. These opinions include some critical shots at Obama, the state of the economy, terrorism, and race.
You are taken throughout their daily lives with numerous choppy segments that don't have a lot of direction and don't seem to be leading to any kind of endgame. That, in and of itself, is my biggest gripe with the documentary as a whole. You find yourself spending more time wondering where things are heading rather than embracing the culture and opinions you are being exposed to. Just when you think you have things figured out, you're throw into an entirely new situation that's even more confusing.
Don't get me wrong, you're given fair warning that something like this might happen from the beginning of the film. The first shot shows Mark naked on the side of the road flicking his penis for God knows what reason. You understand right then and there that this is going to be a different kind of documentary. And that's not the last time you'll see his man parts, fair warning.
The realism is disturbing, but much appreciated. In the back of my mind, I imagined people like Mark and those in the second segment (composed of a self-formed militia) existed, but it's an entirely different animal watching them actually walk through their daily lives unedited. We truly live in a divided world.
In the final segment, the militia spray paints "Obama sucks ass" on an old jalopy, puts an Obama mask in its window, then proceeds to shoot the car to pieces which ended in a final grenade or rocket launch (couldn't quite tell what the weapon was). The car is still burning long after they had finished with it. Those last embers seemed to signify humanity surviving the stupidity of division.
The Other Side is a very unique documentary that could have been shot with a better flow in mind. I give it a 61.
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