Jasper Mall

Brett Whitcomb's 2020 documentary follows a year at a shopping mall in Jasper, Alabama. The mall is nearly empty; the few remaining shops, the security guard and the old people who come every day are its characters. The method is calm: no commentary, no thesis, only the seasons and repeated daily movements. The central figure is Mike, who cleans the corridors and waters the plants and describes what the place was like forty years ago. The economic collapse of small-town America is never stated, and stands in every frame. The pace is very slow. Who it's for: viewers who like observational documentary and portraits of a place. Who it's not for: anyone wanting narrative progression, or who will find a still structure dull.