(1992)
4
Tom Wiener
Shot over a period of a year and a half, Jonathan Demme's highly personal 1992 documentary (made in-between The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia) is one of the real undiscovered treasures of his oeuvre. Robert Castle is a dynamic man, who, the film suggests, chose the Episcopal priesthood to serve more than just the spiritual needs of his inner-city parishioners. Among the film's many emotionally moving scenes are two involving a trip to find a grave site; at a family reunion in Vermont, Castle leads an expedition into the woods to locate the resting place of one of his sons, who some years ago died in a drowning accident, and back in Jersey City, Castle and several old friends poke around a neglected cemetery in search of the grave of Isaiah Rowley, a Black Panther activist killed by drug dealers. In both cases, Demme shows, Castle is dealing with the death of a family member -- he doesn't distinguish between blood relations and his parishioners. This is personal filmmaking at its best; Demme talks about Castle's father, his beloved uncle, in intimate terms that allows the viewer to see right away how their son turned out to be such a special person.
Cousin Bobby on AllMovie
Cousin Bobby (1992)
