'Time' A Review

Time is a documentary about Fox Rich, entrepreneur, abolitionist, and mother of six, as she fights for the release of her husband who is serving a 60-year sentence for an armed robbery they both committed, she entered a plea bargain and served 3 years out of a 12 year sentence, and he tried the case receiving a vindictive sentence. The film unfolds through extensive home video footage shot by Rich cut with produced footage from the present.

In unassuming black and white with a lyrical almost dream like piano score the film fluidly morphs through 20 years of the family's struggle, focusing predominately on Rich but by extension her children, crosscutting them as children and as young men. Not only is it a powerful political film, more intimate than it's counterparts The House I Live In and 13th Amendment, it is a meditation on time, courage, and love. The film doesn't necessarily get into policy specifics in regards to systemic oppression and mass incarceration it focuses on how these institutions directly effect people, families, and life. What the cost is on a human level. It's incredibly potent.

More wispy dream or gentle breeze than fiery social statement it none the less gets to the heart of the issue by focusing on the individuals effected, the pain and frustration and anxiety, the valor and endurance needed to survive let alone triumph. It focuses on empathy rather than policy and perhaps that can change minds more effectively than information. A must watch for these turbulent times.

Currently streaming on Amazon.

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