Critical Writing Index

Barns, Brits, and Birthrights: Philip Hoffman's All Fall Down: personal, experimental and a documentary feature

by Scott Mackenzie

POV, Winter 2009, no. 76, pp. 35 - 39

"Barns, Brits, and Birthrights" is a review that describes Philip Hoffman's most recent 'hybrid' documentary, All Fall Down, telling the stories of Nahneebahweequa and George Lachlan Brown. Both characters struggle to hold their lives together and gain control of their narratives. Generally speaking, Hoffman's work explores his "personal histories of family, memory, and loss" (35). The farm plays a central role as it ties the narratives together through its use, disuse, and abuse. "All Fall Down notes that if the farms and barns aren't used for creativity and growth, for the (re)generations of the land and life that defines the area, they will no doubtly be eradicted (36). Mackenzie believes that All Fall Down is Hoffman's most compelling work to date (39).

ITEM 2009.074 – available for viewing in the Research Centre

Videos, Artworks and Artists Cited

All Fall Down – Philip Hoffman

On the Pond – Philip Hoffman

Kitchener/Berlin – Philip Hoffman

Technilogic Ordering – Philip Hoffman

?O, Zoo! (The Making of a Fiction Film) – Philip Hoffman

A Zed and Two Noughts – Peter Greenaway

passing through/torn formations – Philip Hoffman

What these ashes wanted – Philip Hoffman

Somewhere between Jalostotitlan & Encaracion – Philip Hoffman

Our Hitler – Hans-Jürgen Syberberg

Sans soleil – Chris Marker

Histoire(s) du cinéma – Jean-Luc Godard

We Are Going Home – Jenn Reeves

Scratch – Deirdre Logue

5 Spells – Helen Hill

Praise – Barbara Sternberg