Bing Liu the director of the Academy Award-nominated documentary Minding the Gap teams up with his co-editor of that film, Joshua Altman, to co-direct All These Sons. While Minding the Gap spanned a greater period of time, All These Sons has a broader scope.
All These Sons looks at gun violence in Chicago. There have been other documentaries and scripted projects that have done so before, like Steve James’ The Interrupters and Spike
Lee’s Chi-Raq, so it never felt the need to present a comprehensive history, only as it relates to the subjects within the documentary. Set in both the South and West sides of Chicago, All These Sons focuses on two community groups (Iman Re-Entry and MAAFA) that are trying to change the conditions that create gun violence.
The two groups though both grounded in religion either by name or location and leader operate in different ways. Iman Re-Entry has a very community center basement vibe right down to having its members play a game of ‘keep the ball from touching the floor.’ MAAFA has more of a Youth Group vibe, complete with a field trip. However, both groups look to get their members to believe they have a future and can choose not to pick up a gun by helping them deal with their trauma and offering them support when they backslide.
Unlike with Minding the Gap, the relationships between filmmakers and subjects weren’t pre-established so the amount of trust put on display, the amount of vulnerability they were able to capture speaks highly of Liu and Altman’s ability to connect with their subjects. However, the lack of pre-established relationships does give this film a more traditional documentary style with less interviewer interaction than Minding the Gap, though there are still moments of interaction captured. Particularly when a subject no longer wants to be filmed.
The documentary has a lot of talking head, however, it is often intercut with how others are reacting to the speaker which serves to keep the film moving. There is the use of news footage, an early one being when Billy Moore talks about how he dreamed of playing for the White Sox but then gun violence was on the rise in the 80s. It shows footage of the 80s gun violence in Chicago culminating in a report about how a high school basketball player, Benjamin “Benji” Wilson, regarded as a top prospect was shot and killed. It is revealed Billy Moore was the shooter and he went to jail for it. That is why he does the work he does at Iman Re-Entry, because his fear led him to have a gun, and having it put him in a position to use it.
Any time the film something on a screen you can tell they are just straight shooting the screen because of the distinctive glare. While in most of the film they would have been better off doing this by another means it was very effective when Shamont, who is trying to get his GED, struggles with his focus on the questions on the screen, his frustration apparent. He can’t focus on the screen, and neither can we.
The city tries to stop gun violence but investing in more cops, increasing the number out on the 4th of July, which doesn’t stop four people from being shot. There is a moment while interviewing Billy Moore they capture the sound of a volley of gunfire prompting Billy to end the interview so he can stay inside so they don’t look at him for it.
What groups like Iman Re-Entry and MAAFA do, all while fighting for scraps of funding, is try to provide tools to the young men that come to them so that they can make different choices in the future. Choices they can make because they believe they have choices. They do this through a variety of methods, be it through teaching skilled labour, or through education. Education that was hindered by the fact that 50% of the schools in their neighbourhoods have been closed. One of the first things established in this film is the young men in these programs haven’t been outside of Chicago, and many of them don’t even leave the four blocks of their neighbourhood. This lack of access is another ingrained part of their trauma that these programs try to chip through.
One of the documentary subjects, Zay, was one of the people shot on July 4th and you watch him work through his trauma of the event while continuing on the path he chose through Iman Re-Entry and even allowed him to contribute pieces to a memoirist project. However, other subjects do stray from the path but their programs don’t abandon them. It is said in the film and it sums up the philosophy of these organizations “they refuse to give in to the narrative that they are not redeemable.”
The documentary is a heavy one, it’s dealing with a heavy subject matter. Though it makes time for moments of joy in these young men succeeding at their goals, getting out of the city for the first time, public speaking, or building their families.
But Marshall Hatch Jr., who runs MAAFA, said that while these programs are helping, they aren’t the solution. He likened them to “band-aids on a bullet wound.” Then what is the solution? It’s not increased policing; it doesn’t help, and the trust isn’t there. These programs help, but they can only do so much. One of the big things that stood out in the documentary was the repeated mention of trauma and PTSD, a lot of it from youth, and most of it not resolved. The film makes a case for better access to and the destigmatization of counselling. Also, access to education, because closing schools and forcing kids to travel long distances or sit in overcrowded classes doesn’t create a conducive learning environment. It’s not just one thing, and it won’t change overnight. You have to make people feel safe and earn their trust, like Liu and Altman did with their subjects in All These Sons, if you want anything to have lasting change.
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.