The Public (Emilio Estevez, 2018): USA

Reviewed by Hugo Paxlind. Viewed at the Santa Barbara International film festival, 2018.

We follow Stuart (Emilio Estevez) who works as a librarian in Cincinnati. we get to see the poverty and homeless people of Cincinnati. As winter has reached the city the homeless people are the ones affected the most. they spend most of their time inside the public library to stay warm and have a roof over their heads. as the weather gets to extreme the homeless and ill people decide to highjack the library to survive the night.

it is an excellent movie to raise awareness about poverty, the homeless and the people in need. Emilio really has a red thread throughout the entire movie as we get to know the staff of the library as well as the homeless people. there are several jokes that return throughout the movie and the storyline feels smooth and clear. not only do we get to follow the outcome of the hijacked library but we also get to follow the story of a charming landlord, a egocentric prosecutor running for mayor and a detective looking for his lost son. it really is an eyeopening movie although it doesn’t give any answers on how to really solve the issue besides, do what you can do to make a difference. the cinematography is great and even though the movie is mostly filmed inside the library you still stay interested and it doesn’t leave you bored. script is good and acting performance as well. i would definitely recommend this movie, go see it when you get a chance.