Search - August in the Empire State on DVD

A Thought-Provoking and Warmly Human Political Documentary

Lesley Patterson | Nashville, TN | 11/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As a snapshot of the 2004 presidential election, this remarkable film captures that moment from the vantage point of those people whose voices are rarely, if ever, heard in the mainstream media: the poor. At the center is activist Cheri Honkala, a charismatic and passionate spokesperson for the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign. Leading a group of marchers into the protests that filled the streets of New York during the summer of 2004, her will never flags, not when she and her cohorts are being gawked at by onlookers or harassed by the police. We all know how the election turned out, but Cheri's story serves as a model for living out one's convictions--the realization that, through working to promote those values we hold most dear, we might cling to our humanity in those moments when it would otherwise be stripped away from us. One reason this film succeeds so brilliantly, however, is that Cheri isn't the only focal point; at the opposite end of the spectrum is Paul Rodriguez, a conservative Republican Congressional candidate. The film never demonizes him, but rather shows his own unflagging pursuit of what he considers to be true and good. We never doubt whose side the filmmakers are on, though, if only because they're so skilled at showing all the ways that American society remains essentially racist and classist, but without ever hammering us over the head with the point."