A cut above most nonfiction explorations of Katrina, thanks to the ever-empathetic Demme's talent for showcasing the uniquely human qualities of every person he films.
Jacobs, the great 20th-century philosopher-evangelist of urban life, would surely recognize this retired restaurant cook, a resident of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans and the subject of Jonathan Demme's marvelous new documentary, as an indispensable "public character."
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Slant MagazineJoseph Jon Lanthier
Slant MagazineJoseph Jon Lanthier
What keeps the documentary from lapsing entirely into a generic human-interest story superficially peppered with local color is, oddly enough, the slowness with which Parker's goals are achieved.
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The PlaylistKevin Jagernauth
The PlaylistKevin Jagernauth
I'm Carolyn Parker isn't so much a movie title, as a "Spartacus"-like shout that, if we all embraced, would make us a better people and country.
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Village Voice
Village Voice
In both "The Agronomist" and here, Demme looks at real people defined by their civic-mindedness and explores their politics biographically.