Is there objectivity in the midst of apocalypse? Ed Pincus and Lucia Small’s modestly scaled, minimally budgeted “The Axe in the Attic” finds the duo of documentarians first observing from afar, then rushing into the fray of the terrible devastation in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The edges of their verite approach begin to fray as the film moves through its extended 110-minute length. As Pincus and Small put it in a directors’ statement, “Katrina brought about the largest internal migration in US history, even larger than that brought on by the Dust Bowl.” While their personal details don’t match the power of the subject they’re reflecting upon, the ending is earned. 110m. BetaSP video. Co-director Small will appear after Friday and Saturday screenings. (Ray Pride)
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