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OT: Our Town (2003)
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Reviews Counted:24
Fresh:21
Rotten:3
Average Rating:7.1/10
Theatrical Release:Aug 15, 2003 Limited
Synopsis: This inspiring documentary tracks the progress of Catherine Borek, a high school teacher in Compton California who is determined to start a drama troupe in a school that is dominated by a champion... This inspiring documentary tracks the progress of Catherine Borek, a high school teacher in Compton California who is determined to start a drama troupe in a school that is dominated by a champion basketball team and is otherwise full of hopeless, helpless kids. Pulling her students together and motivating them by telling them that they are talented and they can prove themselves, she gives them the script for OUR TOWN, the classic play by Thornton Wilder about a small community in Grover's Corners, New Hampshire. With frequent cuts to the 1977 television rendition of the play starring Hal Holbrook, OT: OUR TOWN slowly but surely establishes the gigantic differences between the crime-ridden ghetto that is Compton and the idyllic homogeneous safe haven of Grover's Corners. The kids who are to star in the play first approach it with amusement, coloring the actions of the play with their own music, insights, and experiences. But they soon encounter seemingly insurmountable challenges, and that is when the film diverges from the play's production to show the real family and friends behind these struggling students. An inspiring and honest piece of filmmaking directed and produced by Scott Hamilton Kennedy, OT: OUR TOWN is a tale of modern urban struggle and strife with a happy ending. [More]
Director: Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Director: Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Producer: Mark Pellington, Scott Hamilton Kennedy
Composer: Kevin Haskins, Doug DeAngelis
Studio: Film Movement
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Reviews for OT: Our Town
A documentary guaranteed to leave you laughing, crying and feeling pretty darn good about the transforming power of art.
A tiny but wondrous miracle that sprouted despite daunting obstacles, like a dandelion that shoots up in the middle of a sidewalk.
The film makes a convincing case that the seemingly antiquated play may actually be more relevant today than ever before. Who would have guessed?
Director-photographer Scott Hamilton Kennedy's celebratory documentary shows how the students proved the naysayers wrong.
promotes a message that more people need to understand in order to get past false stereotypes
Though not spectacularly directed, there are enough moments of humor and poignancy to keep you engaged.
The connections between Wilder's text and the realities of ghetto existence take on an emphatic, crystalline life all their own.
OT is inspiring, but abstractly so, like a six-part series on arts and education in the L.A. Times.
Briskly energizing... it’s a delight to watch [these kids] blossom as they come together in an effort none of them had any idea they needed, or wanted, or could succeed at.
A remarkable documentary about some ghetto kids in Compton, California, who rise to the best in themselves in a rousing high school production of Thornton Wilder's famous play.
Backed by a soundtrack of hip-hop and edited to within an inch of its life, Kennedy’s film has sleek gutter charm to spare.
Director Scott Kennedy parallels the play's universal themes -- community, family, love and loss -- with the students' lives, poignantly illustrating how relevant the material still is today.
Entertaining and heartening, OT is also an urgent reminder of the importance of arts-related programs in the schools, and could serve as a useful tool tool for those fighting the good fight for such funding.
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