Rat Film

Theo Anthony's 2016 documentary uses the rats of Baltimore as a starting point. The film follows the rat first: the people who hunt them, those who keep them as pets and the city's pest crew. Then the account widens and it emerges that the maps of rat density and of poverty lie on top of each other, leading to the maps drawn in the thirties with red lines that denied credit to Black neighbourhoods. The documentary presents that connection not as an accusation but as a line traced through data. Laboratory experiments, images from a computer game and street interviews enter between sections, and the narration is mechanical and distant. The structure is essayistic and not easy to follow. Who it's for: viewers curious about essay documentary and urban history. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a straight account; the film keeps changing subject.