''Moving Midway'' is a 2007 American documentary film directed by film critic
Godfrey Cheshire. The film follows Cheshire's cousin Charlie moving the
Midway Plantation House and Outbuildings
The Midway Plantation House and Outbuildings are a set of historic buildings constructed in the mid-19th century in present-day Knightdale, North Carolina, Knightdale, Wake County, North Carolina, as part of a Slavery in the United States, forced ...
to a new location, and what the Midway means to his family and other groups. The film was shot around 2005 and premiered at the
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema.
The festival is a program of the Center for Documentary Studies, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) at Duke University. ...
on April 14, 2007, followed by a limited release on September 12, 2008.
Plot summary
Godfrey Cheshire is an American film critic who had helped found Raleigh's ''Spectator Magazine'' and written for various publications such as ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' and more. In early 2004, he learns that his cousin Charlie wants to move the buildings of Midway Plantation. The documentary features interviews with many of the family members, who worry that moving the buildings would destroy Midway. Cheshire learns about the African-American branch of Midway, and reaches out to a NYU professor, Dr. Robert Hinton, who shows him a new perspective on the Midway.
The film features excerpts from ''
Gone with the Wind
Gone with the Wind most often refers to:
* Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell
* Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel
Gone with the Win ...
'', ''
The Birth of a Nation
''The Birth of a Nation'', originally called ''The Clansman'', is a 1915 American silent epic drama film directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. The screenplay is adapted from Thomas Dixon Jr.'s 1905 novel and play ''The Cla ...
'', ''
The Littlest Rebel
''The Littlest Rebel'' is a 1935 American musical drama film directed by David Butler. The screenplay by Edwin J. Burke was adapted from a play of the same name by Edward Peple.
Cast
* Shirley Temple as Virgie Cary
* John Boles as Herbert Ca ...
'', ''
'', ''
Song of the South
''Song of the South'' is a 1946 American Live-action animated film, live-action/animated musical film, musical drama film directed by Harve Foster and Wilfred Jackson; produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Pictures, RKO Radio Pictures. ...
'', ''
Uncle Tom's Cabin
''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...
'', and ''
Roots
A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients.
Root or roots may also refer to:
Art, entertainment, and media
* ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...
'', among others. Blues songs were performed by
Algia Mae Hinton
Algia Mae Hinton (née O'Neal; August 29, 1929 – February 8, 2018) was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and vocalist, based in Johnston County, North Carolina, United States.
Biography
She was the youngest child of Alexander and Ollie ...
.
Reception
The film has received very positive reviews. It features a 100% on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
with the Critic Consensus reading, "This strange, heartfelt documentary from film critic Godfrey Cheshire is a fascinating examination of his family roots, as well as an evocative meditation on the complexities of the South."
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
gave the film 3 out of 4 stars, claiming that "it starts in one direction and discovers a better one. Cheshire is a dry, almost dispassionate narrator, and that is good; preaching about his discoveries would sound wrong." ''
LA Weekly
''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...
'' named it the 9th best film of 2008 along with ''
The Order of Myths
''The Order of Myths'' is a 2008 documentary film directed by Margaret Brown. It focuses on the Mardi Gras celebrations in Mobile, Alabama, the oldest in the United States. It reveals the separate mystic societies established and maintained by ...
''.
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris (October 31, 1928 – June 20, 2012) was an American film critic. He was a leading proponent of the auteur theory of film criticism.
Early life
Sarris was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek immigrant parents, Themis (née Katav ...
of ''
New York Observer
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
'' named it the 2nd best non-fiction film of the year.
External links
Official site*
*
*
References
{{Reflist
2007 films
American documentary films
Films shot in North Carolina
First Run Features films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films