Protagonist

Alive Mind

Artsy documentarian Jessica Wu explores the roots of obsession in this fascinating portrait of four men. Wu's subjects have all been driven to extremes in their lives: one is an "ex-gay" man who's become an evangelical preacher, one is a bank robber, one is a former terrorist, and one, Wu's own husband, is so devoted to martial arts that he endures the tutelage of an oddly sadistic instructor. Protagonist shows how these four men are all running from great pain in their childhoods, tracing the development of their individual coping mechanisms, how those mechanisms came to do more harm than good to their psyches, and how the men broke through their self-destructive behavior to find a new equilibrium. The individual stories are fascinating on their own; the connections Wu finds between them make the documentary extra special. And there's a third layer: Wu frames the movie on the structure of Greek tragedy, turning the film into an exploration of fate and free will. Wu's ability to maintain a strong directorial vision while being absolutely sensitive to her subjects creates a compelling film.