Tribeca Reviews for An Eye for an Eye, Andy Kaufman is Me, and Natchez

A round up of some of the documentaries that I watched at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Here’s another roundup of Tribeca films. This time, I’m focusing on a few documentaries that I was able to screen for the festival.

An Eye for an Eye (dir. Tanaz Eshaghian and Farzad Jafari)

In An Eye for an Eye, directors Tanaz Eshaghian and Fazad Jafari tell the story of Tahereh, an Iranian woman who killed her husband in an act of self-defense. She spent years trying to get a divorce, only to be denied time and again, even with evidence of her husband’s drug use and abuse. She admitted to the murder and served years in prison, but under Sharia law, the family of the murdered man is allowed to ask for her execution or for blood money to be paid back to them.

An Eye for an Eye works on several levels. First, there is a mystery about how Tahereh was able to murder her husband. Then there is the question of whether or not his family will choose execution or blood money, and what amount they will request if the latter. There is a potential lover. All through the film, there is mystery and intrigue, but what is impressive is that Eshaghian and Jafari never allow this to become a sordid kind of affair or to turn into a more trope-filled true crime story. It focuses on the humanity of Tahereh, her kids, her husband's family, and the women who help her navigate this deeply patriarchal society. (Watch for an interview with Tanaz Eshaghian coming soon.)

Rating: 4/5

Andy Kaufman is Me (dir. Clay Tweel)

I have been somewhat fascinated by Andy Kaufman’s life since I watched the 1999 film Man on the Moon. He is such a unique and singular talent, and it is always interesting to learn more about him from those who knew him before he tragically succumbed to cancer at 35. Andy Kaufman is Me is a look at the man through his writing, particularly a book that he was working on through much of his life.

The documentary includes interviews with Andy’s brother, Michael, and sister, Carol. They give insight into what it was like growing up with him and the relationship they had with him, and the relationship that their father had with Andy. The film also includes interviews with other performers who knew him through his work on Taxi and Saturday Night Live. While there are an abundance of clips and interviews featuring numerous people, the film felt too small to contain Kaufman. And while it would be almost impossible to tell his story in a way that captured who he was, a by-the-numbers documentary, even when it is well done, as Andy Kaufman is Me is, feels like a bit of a letdown.

Rating: 3/5

Natchez (dir. Suzannah Herbert)

The recent fire that destroyed Nottoway Plantation has likely prompted more people to think about the way we approach our fascination with the antebellum South. Can we appreciate the beauty of a gorgeous mansion that gained all of its wealth from the labor of enslaved people? How do we find peace between those who are proud of their family’s heritage while working next to people who are the descendants of enslaved people? Natchez, a documentary from Suzannah Herbert, about the Mississippi town of the same name, addresses some of these questions.

Natchez is an absolutely unflinching look at the ways that racism is still alive and well in a town built on tourism for the plantations. Herbert offers the perspective of many people, including those who own the homes, those who believe that the past is over and needs to be forgotten, those who offer tours that include information about the slave trade, and those who are trying to find a way for everyone to be happy, when that is almost impossible.

Herbert allows the camera to roll and shows what people have to say. She doesn’t cut off when one tour guide repeatedly uses the n-word. She doesn’t artfully edit the rantings of the man who runs his business across the street from Forks of the Road National Park - the second largest slave market in the Deep South. She also allows a Black woman to air her frustrations when the white women she is working with want to side-step the truth of enslavement.

The film is beautifully shot and edited, but if you allow yourself to pay attention, Natchez will horrify you. Perhaps more of us need to be horrified.

Rating: 4.5/5