City So Real (2020)

Steve James's Chicago docuseries is a fascinating look at a wild jungle primary for the mayor's office. I knew very little about Chicago politics but I feel like I know all the players now. It's very long but never boring. James has incredible access to the candidates, likely contenders and giving equal credence to also-rans who nonetheless exercise some influence in the city, benevolent or otherwise. James does not insert himself in the film, he gives no personal opinions, though his editing does sometimes betray his loyalties. He gives equal weight to both sides, Democrat and Republican, North Side and South Side, black and white. What he does brilliantly is juxtaposes shots from the North Side with reverse shots from the South Side giving a different perspective to the same issue. There are many pertinent topics to the election, and James tries to cover all of them. Chicago is a collection of neighborhoods, and he explores them all, looking at the nitty gritty of daily life in the city. He interviews people of all classes, all walks of life. He returns to the same subjects in the pandemic to check back in. There is some irony that the winner of the election was gifted with the treachery of 2020. The original cut probably would've ended at Episode 4 but he could not resist a revisit in the pandemic. It's all the better for it to demonstrate what they're running for. Lori Lightfoot goes from very popular in Episode 4 to very unpopular in Episode 5. That's politics for ya.

Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2016)

This is a very interesting documentary about a community I care deeply about. It's in traditional documentary style; it was distributed by PBS Frontline after all. Abacus Bank in Chinatown, NY was the lone bank prosecuted following the 2008 Financial Crisis. And Ken Yu, a former loan officer at Abacus, was the lone person imprisoned. The rest of Abacus was exonerated. The crisis was obviously brought about by the failure of the major banks to care that they were endangering the world economy-yet no one has been imprisoned. The idea that little Abacus had an important enough role to really play any part in the take down of the world economy is laughably implausible. But Abacus was important enough to have an impact in Chinatown. It serves the Chinese community that typically cannot qualify for traditional credit. The bank is run by a successful and articulate Chinese-American family that makes for a good documentary subject.