Newsfront

An ambitious attempt at capturing the social history of a generation through the experiences of a newsreel cameraman, with brilliantly mounted set pieces, including debates finely tuned to fluctuations in a bigoted, rapidly changing socio-political climate. Easy to overlook such shortcomings as the lack of a strong narrative, the failure to develop the women characters adequately, and the risk of degenerating into mere nostalgia. It's never less than terrific to look at, and the seamless matching of new material with actual newsreel footage is truly remarkable.