Just saw Jesse Moss' arresting documentary, The Overnighters in a screening room the size of my livingroom at IFC Center on Sixth Avenue. If there's a movie that captures this moment in American history -- the tearing apart at the seams of our social fabric -- it is The Overnighters. Through the microcosm of the city of Williston, North Dakota, which is undergoing a kind of Frack Rush the likes of which this country hasn't seen since the days of the California Gold Rush the film can be seen as a portrait of America. In case you hadn't heard: The Dakotas are booming thanks to fracking and one of the results is an influx of men seeking work in the oil fields.
Would it surprise anyone to learn that not all the men who make the journey do find jobs? And then, having traveled hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from home for this golden opportunity, many of these men struggle to survive. Enter, pastor Jay Reinke, who has responded to the wave of homeless migrant workers by opening the basement of his church to virtually all who seek shelter.
"I am broken. We are all broken," he says several times throughout the film, parroting a Christian world-view which, though I am not a Christian, I do subscribe to. Another version of this, I suppose might be: But there for the grace of God go I.
The portrait of a man who risks everything to help those most in need naturally reminds me of my mother's holocaust research. Specifically, her book, When Light Pierced the Darkness, in which she sought to uncover who these Christian Poles were who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. "We didn't make a formal decision to do this. It just evolved," says Pastor Reinke at one point in the film, echoing a common thread running through Nechama Tec's work. Acts of great altruism are rarely, if ever, carefully planned out. They simply unfold. Someone shows up asking for help. You agree for one night. One night turns into two and a week and before you know it, there's something more lasting at play.
Ultimately, though, because of who and where we are in our American history, steeped in a culture of profound isolation, the story in Williston doesn't end well for anyone. In fact, the American character, in the end does emerge as the central character of this tale. And, frankly, seeing this movie made me ashamed. But... it also reminds us that in times like these, perhaps more than ever, when expanding inequality seems limitless, we must be relentless in our efforts to help one another. Whenever and however we can.
If the size of the screening room at IFC is any indication, it seems that most of us may not be willing (or able?) to swallow this bitter pill. I wonder, though, whether our very survival might not depend on it.
