USA Film Fest - Must Read After My Death

Roger Ebert called this film "a cry from the grave," and is it ever. Imagine going through a recently deceased grandmother’s possessions and finding a trove of papers and audiotapes hand marked "Must read after my death." So begins Morgan Dews’ examination of the remarkably-documented portrait of his grandparents (Allis and Charlie) and their children (his mother and her three siblings), and the wreckage of what began as such a seemingly perfect 60s family. Allis and husband Charlie recorded dictaphone messages for each other and telephone calls while Charlie worked much of the year in Australia. The tapes reveal that the couple had an "open marriage" and that Charlie, an alcoholic, fought with Allis constantly. When the family comes under the "care" of a psychiatrist named Dr. Lenn (Allis records some of these sessions, too), the wheels really begin to come off. Lenn wrongly sends one son to a mental institution, and pretty much places blame for all their problems on Allis. Somehow, Allis retained her sense of self despite the socially-sanctioned male authorities' attempts to persuade her otherwise. And we learn what happens with each of the children, and how they bear their scars. Alternately elegant and chilling in its raw honesty, there has never been a "home movie" quite like Morgan Dews’ remarkable film. 74 mins. Director Morgan Dews in attendance.

Information provided by the festival