Remake review: Ross McElwee revisits grief, filmmaking and Sherman’s March
Ross McElwee’s Remake begins with Hollywood’s proposal to fictionalize his best-known documentary, Sherman’s March. The film also revisits footage of McElwee’s late son, combining personal loss with a self-critical examination of autobiographical filmmaking, performance and the ways cinema can preserve moments of apparent truth.
Ross McElwee’s new documentary, Remake, begins after Hollywood contacts him about making a fictionalized version of Sherman’s March, his best-known film.
Released in 1985, Sherman’s March followed McElwee’s journey back to South Carolina, where he filmed family members, old friends and himself while documenting his unsuccessful attempts to form romantic relationships. McElwee made the film with a one-person crew and supplied the voiceover.
Remake also revisits footage of McElwee’s late son. The film examines creativity, shame, love and loss while criticizing the autobiographical method it uses, including the way filming can turn events into performances once subjects know they are being recorded.
THE QUESTIONS THIS EVENT LEAVES BEHIND
What changes when a filmmaker revisits footage made before a family loss?
How does a proposed fictional remake affect the meaning of the original documentary?
Can a filmed moment remain candid once the subject knows a camera is present?
What responsibilities arise when autobiographical material includes other people’s lives?
What might be lost when personal grief is shaped into a film?
YOUR QUESTION
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GLOBAL CURIOSITY MAP · AUGUST 2026