Film Review: Radiant City

This is a most unusual documentary about living in the suburbs. It made me very happy to be living in the inner city in a condo. It basically is discussing the suburban spread and its inherent problems. We are introduced to the Moss family. Mom loves her suburban home, especially the big kitchen. When she does go into the downtown area she is reminded that she has five bedrooms and a big kitchen. The children talk about living in the suburbs. They live in a mythical place called Evergreen. The streets are prim and quiet. We see the expanse of this community and others being developed. You are introduced to a real estate agent trying to sell the sprawling homes. You meet town planners. We are told that the suburbs continue to sprawl but there is a need to retrofit. With the cost of gas and excessive need of energy changes in suburban living are necessary. One planner also talks about the cookie cutter design. He states that a shift of paradigm is necessary. Malls need to have housing and people need to be able to walk to all the facilities required. One developer claims that suburbs attempt to have a small town feeling but it doesn’t work. He calls the houses ‘ containers.’ It is stated that the young people move into a new suburb. They all have children at the same time and the community becomes a social apartheid.
To add a little creativity and diversion to the discussion we are treated to parts of a musical presented by people living in Evergreen community. The musical is called Suburbs and the songs are all about living in the suburbs. The cast is in shorts and T shirts and they sing songs while mowing the lawn and telling about life in the community. It is very clever and delightful
At the end of the documentary we discover that the Moss family is fictional but all the actors do live in the suburbs. I was fascinated with the whole concept but did see flaws in some of the concepts. They constantly showed streets with no people and talked about how quiet it is. My impression is of streets filled with kids playing. In the summer people are outside and everybody sees their neighbor. I totally agree with the understanding that this giant sprawl is taking a toll on energy. The central downtown area has been forced to build multi dwellings and town houses because of the cost of land.
I love a good documentary that teaches you something and is fascinating to watch. The creative approach made for good viewing.