MILESTONES

(director: Robert Kramer/John Douglas; screenwriter: Robert Kramer; cinematographers: Robert Kramer/John Douglas/Barbara Stone; editors: Robert Kramer/John Douglas; music: Bobby Buechler; cast: Grace Paley (Helen, photographer), Mary Chapelle (Mama), Suie Solf (Karen), Joe Stork (Larry), Jim Nolfi (Jim), Lou Ho (Lou), Kalaho (Erika), Tina Shepherd (Elizabeth), Sharon Krebs (Jane), John Douglas (John, blind potter), David C. Stone (Joe), Paul Zimet (Peter); Runtime: 199; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Barbara Stone/David C. Stone; Icarius Films; 1975)

“American indie cinema at its most epic, as a fake cinéma-vérité three-and-a-half hour testament to the generation that survived the 1960s.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

American indie cinema at its most epic, as a fake cinéma-vérité three-and-a-half hour testament to the generation that survived the 1960s. Under the lyrical direction of Robert Kramer (“People’s War”/”Route One/USA”/”Dear Doc”) at least forty assorted hippies, filmmakers, immigrants, and political activists are interviewed in their familiar landscapes, as they attempt to come to terms with a changing country in the post-Sixties. The subjects engaged in are diverse, such as parenting, activism, slavery, Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, feminism, career challenges, economic survival and communal life. But beware, some scenes are scripted and fictionalized.

This excellent timeless historical film is one for the record, as it notes the passing of era for radicalism that promised so much for those who envisioned an alternative America and now experience a certain sadness and nostalgia for an idealistic society that promised and delivered much but never reached its visionary potentials. Filmmakers Kramer and John Douglas take us on a bumpy ride exploring the transition of the 1960s into the 1970s, as its sundry subjects leave us with many invaluable insights into the revolutionary agitprop of the times.

This film, a talk fest, justifiably leaves the silent majority out of the picture to focus solely on the white radicals who were hungry to eradicate the downsides of America and not fit into the establishment.

REVIEWED ON 6/15/2014 GRADE: B+