Crawford
Saturday, April 26, 5:30 pm
Somerville Theatre (rush tickets only)
and
Sunday, April 27, 12:00 pm
Brattle Theatre

Documentarian David Modigliani headed to Crawford, Texas, to find out how George W. Bush's presence impacted the tiny Texas town. Crawford did a lot for Bush, building his image as an ordinary small-town guy. And Bush did a lot for Crawford, boosting the local economy with his team and the media brigade that followed. Modigliani tries to capture Bush's impact on Crawford from the perspective of both sides, talking to his star-struck supporters, peace protesters, and those who just want a little peace and quiet.

At first, it seems as if Modigliani might try too hard to be fair because it's almost impossible to be impartial about George W. Bush. The very mention of Bush's name stirs up potent, divisive feelings. But Modigliani chooses the protagonists of his documentary wisely, and their personalities transcend the political situation. The documentary is just as much about how the traditional American small town has changed as it is about the presence of the president. As for Bush, Modigliani says, "Bush is peripheral to the story. He's like Godot."

More after the jump! Image of Tom Warlick, who grew up as Bush's presence transformed Crawford, from the movie's official site.

Modigliani said that the residents of Crawford appreciated his approach because they had been burned by the media before: "The people of Crawford are a bit skeptical of the media -- and justifiably so. They feel like they've been made out to look a lot more podunk, hillbilly and backward than they really are. But I'm young and we had a small camera and when they saw that we were genuinely interested in their story -- especially as we came back to town a third and fourth and fifth time -- they loosened up and began to trust us."

The trust was rightly placed. The people of Crawford don't look podunk in the documentary. They have their own lives and jobs, and those lives don't revolve around George W. Bush. When an unexpected tragedy happens to a central figure of the documentary, the president and all he symbolizes vanish into the background, and the moment in the movie makes you realize that politicians don't impact our lives as much as they think. Maybe a few Bush supporters come off as a little goofy, such as a preacher who wears a Spongebob Squarepants tie on camera and can't wait for the day when Bush will visit the church (Bush hasn't), but he's the kind of red-state true believer you'd meet anywhere.

For anyone who makes a lot of noise about being "fair and balanced," Modigliani pulls it off. He refers us to the people of Crawford if you want proof: "Six Crawfordites in the film came to its world premiere. For them to stand behind it, to say 'we're fairly represented here' and to enjoy the movie -- that was the best review we could have gotten."