Poster of The Town That Was

The Town That Was

Documentary

Director: Chris Perkel, Georgie Roland

Release Date: January 30, 2007

Where to Watch

American Experience has made all viewers experts or biased on how a documentary narrative should unfold. Unfortunately a very interesting topic, the destruction of a small town because of an underground mine fire that burns even now, suffers from the narrative that jumps from detailing how the fire started, how the government underestimated the threat, how stubborn residents refused to leave and currently deal with life in an abandoned/condemned town and then jumps back to the history of the town then back to today’s stubborn residents. The Town That Was’ lack of focus hurts the documentary and by mainly focusing on a single stubborn resident, the scope of the loss of the town is undercut. More former residents should have had an opportunity to tell their stories.

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