I wish Errol Morris would makes films more often! With the release of Standard Operating Procedure around the corner I have been enjoying reading the various pieces that Morris is writing for major publications. Hot off his New Yorker piece Morris has an opinion piece in the New York Times. It’s a fascinating look at how he uses re-enactments with a focus on his work on the award winning The Thin Blue Line.

The discussion brings up ideas of how documentary should work and how we perceive the past:

Memory is an elastic affair. We remember selectively, just as we perceive selectively. We have to go back over perceived and remembered events, in order to figure out what happened, what really happened. My re-enactments focus our attention on some specific detail or object that helps us look beyond the surface of images to something hidden, something deeper ” something that better captures what really happened. [New York Times]

So if you’ve got some time do give his piece a read - it’s really great. And if you’ve never seen The Thin Blue Line, rent it! A clip about the film is below and after you watch it be sure to and learn about the Fair Trial Initiative.