Louisiana: The Other Side

2015

1h 32m

Documentary

List

83%

Tomatometer

24 Reviews

67%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

Two residents of Louisiana go about their daily routines of shooting up and shooting their mouths off.

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Critics Consensus

A disturbing portrait of a marginal community, Louisiana offers a hard yet compassionate look at The Other Side.

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Peter Keough

Boston Globe

Look away at your own peril.

Aug 31, 2016

Full Review

Dmitry Samarov

Chicago Reader

Minervini has captured a segment of American society too often ignored and mocked, but sometimes he's overtaken by the urge to romanticize decrepitude.

Jul 21, 2016

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Kate Taylor

Globe and Mail

In the end, the power of Minervini's pseudo-fiction gives way to a much blander version of pseudo-reality.

Rated: 2/4

Jun 10, 2016

Full Review

Diego Batlle

Otroscines.com

The movie is hard and raw, and the courage and pungency of the story are commendable, though at times, some situations seem manipulative and the explicitness can be shocking and sensationalist. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 8, 2023

Full Review

Miguel Martín Maestro

El antepenúltimo mohicano

[Director Roberto Minervini] demonstrates a clear and deep knowledge of the winding swamps through which he passes... there is no respite. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/5

Feb 8, 2021

Full Review

C.J. Prince

Way Too Indie

It's a blending of reality and fiction that can feel both exploitative and exciting in the way it brings out a sympathetic, human side to these people that gets beneath their grimy, undesirable surface.

Jun 3, 2019

Full Review

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Liane S

I heard that this was an alien movie. So disappointed that it was not. However, I decided not to mark that as a negative review because that wasn't the movies fault. I decided to view it as someone watching a movie about a person's life. It pretty much showed how a druggy lived, and about their views on politics. It was like a documentary made out to be a movie. I gave it a 2 star because it wasn't too boring, but boring enough. There were also parts that were confusing to me.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Don't believe these reviews that suggest any deep meaning to this movie. It's a film about a bunch of losers displaying the behavior that caused their lives to be as wretched as it is. Instead of spending their money on books, school, or bus tickets out of town, they buy alcohol, drugs, and guns. I wonder why things didn't go so well for them?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

Audience Member

To say The Other Side is obscure would be a gross understatement. It took me a few hours to figure out how I could even get ahold of this documentary on a back woods, podunk area of Louisiana. While I think it could have been done better and my final score probably won't endorse what I'm about to write, I think it's a documentary that everyone should sit through at least once. The cultural implications are eye-opening and powerful. For the majority of the documentary, you get a look into the lives of Mark and Lisa, a couple addicted to meth. While they live in a humble home, their opinions about the state of America's society, particulary Mark's, are very bold and outspoken. These opinions include some critical shots at Obama, the state of the economy, terrorism, and race. You are taken throughout their daily lives with numerous choppy segments that don't have a lot of direction and don't seem to be leading to any kind of endgame. That, in and of itself, is my biggest gripe with the documentary as a whole. You find yourself spending more time wondering where things are heading rather than embracing the culture and opinions you are being exposed to. Just when you think you have things figured out, you're throw into an entirely new situation that's even more confusing. Don't get me wrong, you're given fair warning that something like this might happen from the beginning of the film. The first shot shows Mark naked on the side of the road flicking his penis for God knows what reason. You understand right then and there that this is going to be a different kind of documentary. And that's not the last time you'll see his man parts, fair warning. The realism is disturbing, but much appreciated. In the back of my mind, I imagined people like Mark and those in the second segment (composed of a self-formed militia) existed, but it's an entirely different animal watching them actually walk through their daily lives unedited. We truly live in a divided world. In the final segment, the militia spray paints "Obama sucks ass" on an old jalopy, puts an Obama mask in its window, then proceeds to shoot the car to pieces which ended in a final grenade or rocket launch (couldn't quite tell what the weapon was). The car is still burning long after they had finished with it. Those last embers seemed to signify humanity surviving the stupidity of division. The Other Side is a very unique documentary that could have been shot with a better flow in mind. I give it a 61.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Since the beginning I felt repulsion for Minervini's characters such junkies and American militarists, but at the same time I wanted to know more abou them. A great film.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

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Roberto Minervini

Director

Denise Ping Lee

Screenwriter

Roberto Minervini

Screenwriter

Diego Romero

Screenwriter

Paolo Benzi

Producer

Muriel Meynard

Producer

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88%

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Synopsis

Two residents of Louisiana go about their daily routines of shooting up and shooting their mouths off.

Director: Roberto Minervini
Screenwriter: Denise Ping Lee, Roberto Minervini, Diego Romero
Production Co: RAI Cinema
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 4, 2017
Runtime: 1h 32m

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