Certainly the most important film at this year’s SXSW, and arguably the best, Knock Down The House is an incredible, awe-inspiring documentary about fighting against adversity, and fighting for what you believe in.
In the immediate aftermath of the 2016 election, director Rachel Lears reached out to political action groups wanting to shoot a film about a new kind of candidate. With focus immediately turning to the 2018 Congressional elections, Lears picked four female candidates newly galvanized to represent their communities, and crucially, four who were not career politicians. Those candidates were Amy Vilela, Cori Bush, Paula Jean Swearengin, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Each up against long-time incumbents – often without a primary challenger for years – Lears follows the four challengers’ rocky roads to the ballot box, exploring who they are, why they are fighting, and what is at stake if they do, or don’t win.
Lears gives a remarkable insight into these new politicians’ lives, what it’s like to take on the responsibility of running, and how much they each have to sacrifice for the greater good. This is a film shot with minimal fuss but the narrative is so smartly told; four raw and affecting stories, each so wholly captivating, Lears lets them do their stuff without ever getting in the way.
While it must have been immediately obvious something pretty special could come from (now global superstar) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Lears still she had to tell the story on-screen that lived up to the real-world events, and she hits every beat with a bullseye.
This is a documentary that will elicit a raw emotional response, of injustice, and of empowerment. Knock Down The House displays the importance of creating a new movement to challenge people that have been in power for too long, and grown complacent.
Whomever is your party, Knock Down The House should be mandatory viewing. That your voice can be heard, than you can make a difference, that you can do what no-one thinks is possible, is a universal message for all. This is a very important film, a galvanising movie that will help inspire the next generation of politicians. It makes the goal seem achievable and creates new role models for aspi ring teens and young adults, and the fact Knock Down The House was bought for distribution by Netflix, thus maximising it’s potential audience, can only be for the better.