Report from Millbrook

Jonas Mekas elegant report on a Poughkeepsie police departments raid of Timothy Learys base-of-operations amply demonstrates the political potential of his diary filmmaking. The films protest is lodged in the disjunction between sound and image, with Mekas intimate, idyllic footage of the Millbrook property undercutting audio of the sheriffs 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