Among the corporate bankruptcies littering the landscape, one that may have the most unexpected consequences is the failure of mall holding companies, as the vast tracts of land either stand vacant or be demolished or repurposed. Who knew? is not the question, rather, Why didn’t the builders and buyers know: The wife of globetrotting New York Times columnist and flat-worlder Thomas Friedman is the heir to one of the largest companies, which has pancaked completely, from a valuation of billions to pennies today. Canadian filmmaker Helene Klodawsky’s Sundance entry, “Malls R Us” is uncommonly timely, and her exploration of the history of shopping malls around the world today and with historical footage, is never less than an eyeful. (Ray Bradbury’s extolling the experience of getting lost in a mall is classic.) As Klodawsky puts it, “Assumptions were continuously turned upside down. The Mall has always been a place where idealism, community and greed have come together and these contradictory elements were expressed over and over again.” She has an elegant eye and this strangely beautiful, kaleidoscopic inventory is indelible. The score by Air is swell. 78m. BetaSP. (Ray Pride)
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