Happy Valley

Amir Bar-Lev's 2014 documentary examines what happened in a town after the child sexual abuse crimes of Jerry Sandusky, an assistant coach in the Penn State football programme, came to light. Its real subject is not the crimes but the silence around them and the community's response once they surfaced. Bar-Lev dwells most on the figure of Joe Paterno. What a man who coached the team for decades and became the town's emblem knew, and what he did about it, produces answers divided among his family, the students and journalists. The removal of his statue is the film's most explanatory moment. The documentary shows how institutional loyalty produces blindness. The victims' accounts are not given directly; the focus stays on the adults surrounding the case. Who it's for: viewers of documentaries that examine an institution's reflex to protect itself. Who it's not for: anyone who does not want to go near the subject of child abuse; the crimes are described plainly, without detail, and remain central throughout.