5.0 out of 5 stars
A fascinating and fresh look at Brooklyn, November 26, 2011
This review is from: A Hole In A Fence (DVD)
An engaging documentary about the Red Hook neighborhood in Brooklyn that thoughtfully pulls in themes of class, race, change, and gentrification in a very worthwhile look at one of New York's more complex but lesser known neighborhoods. Well-crafted and original, with implications for urban living that reach far beyond the streets of Brooklyn.
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1.0 out of 5 stars
It must be a small hole, May 6, 2011
This review is from: A Hole In A Fence (DVD)
Yes, Red Hook is slowly being gentrified, with condos on the rise and rumors of mega-stores always in the air. Its story is worth your time, but this film is not worth your time. It's a poorly made student film at best, without a specific thesis, made by a film-maker who doesn't seem to understand the relationship the area has with the rest of Brooklyn or the history of the neighborhood. All he seems to know is what a few random talking heads have to say about it, or rather, what they have to say about themselves as they relate to Red Hook. It appears as if it started out as a documentary about the film-maker's friend, a Cornell architecture student who is attempting an urban Alexander Supertramp-like existence in Red Hook for a summer project about usable space among soon-to-be-displaced homeless folk. After 2 more interviews it expanded - but only slightly.
The neighborhood has long been split in 2 - those in the homes and those in the projects - but the film-maker only speaks with 2 or 3 eccentric white people who have called the area home in order to get the history of the neighborhood, but this only tells (barely) half the story of Red Hook. Other than some brief interviews with people on the street (half of them teenage graffiti artists), no public officials, neighborhood committee members or even an attempt at a statement from IKEA, are given a voice to other viewpoints. Instead, the history of the neighborhood goes back only as far as the 3 white peoples' own interests relate, and most come off as anthropologists studying primitive tribes when referring to the projects. There are plenty of people who can tell you about the rich history of Red Hook - how it was cut off from the rest of Carroll Gardens by the BQE; the mariners quarters that used to reside there, the gangs and drug trafficking - but either the film completely lacks focus or the film-maker was too lazy to seek it out. Running at a lengthy 46 minutes, I'm thinking probably both. Alas, in the end, all we get is a view through a hole in the fence.
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