The Other Side

Among the numerous films about human suffering that are regularly presented at festivals, THE OTHER SIDE occupies a very special position. Minervini, who moved himself (as well as the setting of his fourth feature film) from Texas to Louisiana, had lived in West Monroe for several months before he started shooting this film.
In THE OTHER SIDE he focuses on the life of Mark, a middleaged man caught in a vicious cycle of drug abuse and prison. When not dealing drugs himself, he ekes out a living by working for a scrap dealer or spends his time with his junkie girlfriend, Lisa. Mark entirely fits the image of “white trash” stranded on the margins of society whose powerless rage is directed against politics and the government. Although Minervini does not shy away from using effective images, he does it with the necessary respect. THE OTHER SIDE does not ask us to understand these people “on the other side” but makes us aware of the situations that have made them what they are today. In a long epilogue, Minervini accompanies heavily armed young men preparing for civil war. They hate Obama and expect him to declare martial law in Louisiana. (Michael Pekler)

In the presence of Roberto Minervini.