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Plot Summary
Awarded for its visionary cinematography, GENERAL ORDERS NO.9 breaks from the constraints of the documentary form as it contemplates the signs of loss and change in the American South. The stunning culmination of over eleven years' work from first time writer-director Robert Persons, General Orders No. 9 marries experimental filmmaking with an accessible, naturalist sensibility to tell the epic story of the clash between nature and man's progress, and reaches a bittersweet reconciliation all its own. Told entirely with images, poetry, and music, GENERAL ORDERS NO.9 is unlike any film you have ever seen. A story of maps, dreams, and prayers, it's one last trip down the rabbit hole before it's paved over.
Rotten Tomatoes Movie Reviews
TOMATOMETER
55%- Reviews Counted: 11
- Fresh: 6
- Rotten: 5
- Average Rating: 5.3/10
Top Critics' Reviews
Fresh: "General Orders No. 9" is a tone poem laid over 72 minutes' worth of images, many of them lovely, and is, as its press material says, "unlike any film you have ever seen."
Fresh: This naturalist reflection on a violated world is a little too high on its own holiness, but it introduces a new filmmaker with a distinctive sensibility.
Rotten: General Orders No. 9 strains for elegiac profundity and ends up as bad, backward-looking poetry.
Rotten: The film haphazardly follows the self-destructive path by which, in its own words, "deer trail becomes Indian trail becomes county road becomes interstate."
Customer Reviews
Great Film about the Changing Landscape of the South
This movie is like a lyrical poem, an ode to the changing of the South due to the buildup of cities, roads and the disconnections those caused. It is beautiful, having won many cinematography awards at film festivals. More than one critic has compared it to "Tree of Life" and it came out before that film. It is an wholly original work of art, something you rarely find anymore, and this throws some critics and viewers for a loop, but those who explore this film will be rewarded.
Great movie!
Its the lorax for adults.....loved it!
Don't buy, rent of you have to, but I'd skip it if given the choice now.
If you want to watch a movie composed mostly of stills, no acting, but beautiful photography and music. The narration is negative, but poetic. If you like all this, you might like General Orders No. 9. The plot is simple. Civilization is bad. Period. And no offer of any solution..just that it's bad. It was interesting to watch, but left me saying, 'OK, so what? What's your point?'
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