The American Sector

Name: The American Sector
Genre: Documentary
Released: June 18, 2021
Duration: 67 min
Rating: 86

2021

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Universal acclaim based on 6 Critic Reviews

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Movie Details & Credits

Grasshopper Film | Release Date: June 18, 2021 | Not Rated

Summary: For 18 months, Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez (Manakamana, The Reagan Show) traveled the US to document sections of the wall that are on display in over 75 locations, ranging from the serious (Fort Benning) to the bizarre (Main Street Station Casino in Las Vegas) and even the campus of nearby Capital University. Along the way, interviewsFor 18 months, Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez (Manakamana, The Reagan Show) traveled the US to document sections of the wall that are on display in over 75 locations, ranging from the serious (Fort Benning) to the bizarre (Main Street Station Casino in Las Vegas) and even the campus of nearby Capital University. Along the way, interviews with unusual characters who own, maintain, and interact with pieces of the wall offer a window into American culture, and through the film these Cold War relics become a catalyst for exploring today’s timely issues. [Grasshopper Film]… Expand

Director: Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 67 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Richard Brody

Jun 22, 2021

The American Sector is an exemplary work of cinema as political action, and proof (if any were needed) that the activist element of a film is inseparable from its well-conceived form. Read full review

Sheri Linden

Jun 22, 2021

In short, there’s no predetermined narrative at play in this concise and elegantly crafted road trip. The terrain it travels is one of open-ended questions, and the spark it ignites has a contrapuntal power. Read full review

The Playlist Jonathan Christian

Jun 22, 2021

Stephens and Velez should feel reassured that their three-year venture was not in vain. With “The American Sector,” the two artists crafted a gem—a film that, while tranquil in spirit, assembles a composite sketch of the 21st-century American landscape that shouts with the energy of a thousand voices. Read full review

Nikki Baughan

Jun 22, 2021

An assured, intelligent piece of filmmaking. Read full review

William Repass

Jun 21, 2021

The film accomplishes a restoration of sorts, allowing us to see how historical objects can confer meaning on a new context. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

Jun 22, 2021

This light and thoughtful documentary road trip still manages to draw a comprehensive map of what the Cold War relic has come to represent — and what freedom means to the people of a nation that’s been defined by its pursuit. Read full review

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Brent_Marchant

Jul 2, 2021

This simple, straightforward, no-nonsense visual essay catalogs many of the US locations of sections of the now-dismantled Berlin Wall. Presented with minimal dialogue and background music, the film shows the various American venues where pieces of this hotly contested Cold War symbol haveThis simple, straightforward, no-nonsense visual essay catalogs many of the US locations of sections of the now-dismantled Berlin Wall. Presented with minimal dialogue and background music, the film shows the various American venues where pieces of this hotly contested Cold War symbol have ended up. While some of the locales are obvious (museums, presidential libraries, parks, corporate headquarters, private collections), others are not, including the exterior grounds of a family-owned restaurant, a theme park, unincorporated lands and even a Chicago metro station. The curators of several of these landmarks offer their insights into the meaning of the wall segments, as well as their significance at a time when plans for another new wall are being put into a place in a land that claims to champion democracy and freedom from restriction, qualities that its East German predecessor sought to curtail. At a breezy-paced economical 68-minute runtime, directors Courtney Stephens and Pacho Velez have assembled a thought-provoking, visually appealing offering that gives us much to contemplate -- and not just the wall's place in history.… Expand

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