‘All Light, Everywhere’: An Unfocused Overview Of The Oncoming Surveillance State [Sundance Review]

You are being watched. In the era of facial recognition, targeted advertising, and social media, the threat of an omnipresent eye on the average human has passed. It’s here, and it’s real. Nevertheless, an assortment of valid questions remains. Who is watching? Why are they watching? What are they doing with this information?

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In response, Theo Anthony’s latest documentary “All Light, Everywhere” adopts an essayistic approach to reveal the connective threads that link these questions to the rapidly developing technological renaissance occurring worldwide. Notably, Anthony expressly homes in on the strings anchoring progressive innovation—more specifically, the camera and the conjoined field of photography—with the subsequent weaponization and monopolization of invention within the private sector.

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At the root of a discussion about modern-day policing, mass-produced body cameras, and citywide surveillance sits “All Light, Everywhere,” a kaleidoscopic, but irreversibly fractured piece of creative nonfiction. No one should fault Anthony’s ambitious vision for its aspirations. The film’s adherence to a philosophical outlook and fluidic narrative structure exemplifies the talents of a creator undeniably familiar with—and presumably opposed to—the conventions of a traditional documentary. Thus, “All Light, Everywhere” unfolds in the form of an abstract mosaic instead of a conventional blueprint.

Resultingly, temporal continuity is frail, bouncing between 19th-century German inventors and 21st century Baltimore residents in the blink of an eye. This lack of narrative grasp lends itself to sculpting a disorganization that breeds a hazily ominous atmosphere, a consequence of the combined efforts of Anthony’s editing and Dan Deacon’s score. As such, from a sensory standpoint, the viewer’s journey is not entirely unpleasant, and from an intellectual perspective, “All Light, Everywhere” is by no means uninformative.

Thematically, Anthony’s rumination on perception, manipulation, and contradiction seeps into his critical examination of corporation-fueled automation, and the film’s adherence to encouraging the audience to engage with its assertions, both in reaction to the documentary’s content and hope for post-viewing rumination, displays an artistic maturity and respect for the viewer.

And yet, “All Light, Everywhere” never finds its way out of the dark. Many of the aforementioned themes remain rooted in an infantile state of being, never evolving beyond the point of philosophical buzzwords. Likewise, the structure, while ambitious, also lends itself to creating an unpleasant disorientation. Regrettably, the magnetism of the documentary’s atmosphere rapidly disappears, and the deprivation of momentum stifles its energy. Anthony’s dedication to presenting questions and ideas without definitive endpoints, despite retaining a creative authenticity, funnels into a frustrating conclusion that imparts a sentiment of unfulfillment. The film’s incapacity to cement its scatterbrained talking points ultimately leads to its downfall.

To be fair, no singular aspect about “All Light, Everywhere” necessarily rings false, but its imaginative presentation cannot mask its shallow investigation of racial bias and human error. The film suffers from skimming the surface of topics that will unquestionably affect the United States’ future, if not the entire world. Anthony appears concerned about the uncertainty of the years ahead, and his attempt to vocalize and artistically express such unease deserves respect but does not necessarily warrant your attention. [C-]

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