In this documentary, the filmmaker Angelo Madsen Minax reckons with the loss of his niece, his vibrant sister’s rocky recoveries and being transgender in a traditional, Mormon environment.
“How did you become who you became?” asks Angelo Madsen Minax in the opening voice-over to “North by Current.” It’s one of many searching questions in Minax’s restless personal essay film about his family, himself and the ways in which we understand each other. Interlacing his visits to his folks in a Michigan lumber town with his reflections, the filmmaker reckons with the unfathomable loss of his niece, his vibrant sister’s rocky recoveries and being transgender in a traditional, Mormon environment.
Any one of these subjects would be enough for a single film, but part of Minax’s point and method is how these experiences can illuminate one other. About ten years ago, his sister’s toddler daughter, Kalla, was found dead, a tragedy compounded by allegations of child abuse. But instead of a whodunit unraveling some fixed truth, Minax confronts the grief and guilt felt by all involved, even as he works through his own hurt over his parents’ evolving treatment of his identity.
There’s an alchemy to what he accomplishes here, threading everyday scenes of parenting with fugues of home video and classic rock, and a bold double voice-over: his own, and a wise child persona that offers a cosmic perspective. This kind of personal film has often been attempted (even before “Tarnation” made waves), but rarely with this insight. Minax succeeds, even as he includes a deeply conflicting revelation about himself that he could do more to address. Out of the fractured family documentary, what emerges finally is a drama of self-realization.
North by Current
Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 26 minutes. Watch on PBS platforms.
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