Review of The Hottest August (2019) by Brent_Marchant — 25 Jan 2020

While the tone is decidedly experimental and the narrative definitely defies categorization, this unconventional documentary attempts to provide an integrated look at our existence, one that seeks to reconcile our present with what could be our future at a time that's a crucial crossroad of change on many fronts -- socially, politically, economically and environmentally, to name a few -- and the impact of that amalgamation of influences on everyday individuals, both personally and collectively.

By combining impromptu, unscripted interviews with everyday Gothamites and footage of ordinary daily events and happenings of global significance (most notably the August 2017 solar eclipse), director Brett Story attempts to assemble a holistic package that illustrates the interconnectedness of all these elements and how to deal with them, both now and down the road.

While the film is not entirely successful at its task (it's sometimes a bit too random and meandering in its approach), the filmmaker's obviously sincere attempt to show how the coalescence of these many factors influence us as individuals and as a species is nevertheless commendable, achieving something that other directors have sought to attain but not nearly as effectively or poetically as is the case here.

"The Hottest August" is indeed an important film, one to be admired on multiple levels and one that's capable of both inspiring and terrifying us at the same time. If ever there were a film that shows how we're "living in interesting times," this would be it.