Report from Millbrook

Synopsis

Jonas Mekas' elegant report on a Poughkeepsie police department's raid of Timothy Leary's base-of-operations amply demonstrates the political potential of his diary filmmaking. The film's protest is lodged in the disjunction between sound and image, with Mekas' intimate, idyllic footage of the Millbrook property undercutting audio of the sheriff's fear-mongering rationales. The interview was itself an act of subterfuge as East Village Other writer Bob Simmons posed as a buttoned-up reporter from the solidly mainstream Look to get his exclusive. As Simmons simply gives the sheriff enough rope to hang himself, Mekas' montage leaves the outrage to the audience. - Max Goldberg