Bisbee '17 is a documentary with unusual subject matter. Director Robert Greene has set his historical tale in the backwaters town of Bisbee, Arizona, where a little more than 100 years ago, specifically on July 12, 2017, a tragic event took place.
On the above date, approximately 1300 miners affiliated with the then perceived radical union the Industrial Workers of America, were placed in railroad box cars and deported by the sheriff and a large number of deputized townspeople to the desert in New Mexico, with instructions never to return to the town. The miners, many of them immigrants, never did return to Bisbee but descendants of family members (on both sides) still reside there.
Greene filmed the re-enactment of the deportation 100 years to the day it happened, conscripting locals to play different parts on each side of the political spectrum. I didn't see much archival footage (perhaps not much exists); in place of such footage are the re-enactments of the events leading up to the deportations of the miners, culminating in the victims being herded into box cars at gunpoint.
Greene interviews his "players" who are largely divided as to whether the deportation was both just and necessary. Some current townspeople are of the opinion that had the miners not been deported, there would have been mass casualties as the striking miners were being egged on by dangerous radicals. On the other hand, others view the event as a tragedy, clearly illegal and unjustified. Greene suggests of course that there are parallels to what's going on today, with the Trump Administration's aggressive approach to enforcing immigration laws.
While Bisbee '17 represents some fairly interesting material, it simply goes on for much too long. I would say if the film was 30 minutes shorter, it would have been much more effective. Greene drags things out with his re-creations and we get the whole point early on. Was it necessary for the town to go to such lengths to commemorate an event that happened so long ago and didn't result in any actual lives cut short? I would say no. Instead of "exorcising demons," this was simply an opportunity for the townspeople to basically entertain themselves along with the intrepid filmmakers.
Bisbee '17 is worth a look despite its lugubrious pacing as it proves to be fairly interesting and educational subject matter.
On the above date, approximately 1300 miners affiliated with the then perceived radical union the Industrial Workers of America, were placed in railroad box cars and deported by the sheriff and a large number of deputized townspeople to the desert in New Mexico, with instructions never to return to the town. The miners, many of them immigrants, never did return to Bisbee but descendants of family members (on both sides) still reside there.
Greene filmed the re-enactment of the deportation 100 years to the day it happened, conscripting locals to play different parts on each side of the political spectrum. I didn't see much archival footage (perhaps not much exists); in place of such footage are the re-enactments of the events leading up to the deportations of the miners, culminating in the victims being herded into box cars at gunpoint.
Greene interviews his "players" who are largely divided as to whether the deportation was both just and necessary. Some current townspeople are of the opinion that had the miners not been deported, there would have been mass casualties as the striking miners were being egged on by dangerous radicals. On the other hand, others view the event as a tragedy, clearly illegal and unjustified. Greene suggests of course that there are parallels to what's going on today, with the Trump Administration's aggressive approach to enforcing immigration laws.
While Bisbee '17 represents some fairly interesting material, it simply goes on for much too long. I would say if the film was 30 minutes shorter, it would have been much more effective. Greene drags things out with his re-creations and we get the whole point early on. Was it necessary for the town to go to such lengths to commemorate an event that happened so long ago and didn't result in any actual lives cut short? I would say no. Instead of "exorcising demons," this was simply an opportunity for the townspeople to basically entertain themselves along with the intrepid filmmakers.
Bisbee '17 is worth a look despite its lugubrious pacing as it proves to be fairly interesting and educational subject matter.