Point and Shoot

2014

Documentary

Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Certified Fresh 72% · 53 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 71% · 500 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.8/10 10 1750 1.8K

libya revolution

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Plot summary

At first glance, Matthew VanDyke—a shy Baltimore native with a sheltered upbringing and a tormenting OCD diagnosis—is the last person you’d imagine on the front lines of the 2011 Libyan revolution. But after finishing grad school and escaping the U.S. for "a crash course in manhood," a winding path leads him just there. Motorcycling across North Africa and the Middle East and spending time as an embedded journalist in Iraq, Matthew lands in Libya, forming an unexpected kinship with a group of young men who transform his life. Matthew joins his friends in the rebel army against Gaddafi, taking up arms (and a camera). Along the way, he is captured and held in solitary confinement for six terrifying months.

Director

Marshall Curry Photo
Marshall Curry

Top cast

Joseph Oliveira Photo
Joseph Oliveira as Lt Rashidd
Matt Sager Photo
Matt Sager as TV News Anchor
Matthew Vandyke Photo
Matthew Vandyke as Self
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
733.23 MB
1280*718
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
25 fps
1 hr 19 min
Seeds 12
1.47 GB
1920*1078
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles us  
25 fps
1 hr 19 min
Seeds 18

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by paul-allaer 6 / 10

"Crash course in manhood"

"Point and Shoot" (2014 release; 83 min.) is a documentary about Matthew Vandyke, a 20-something guy who, having lived a sheltered life (only child of a well to do family), decides to do something about it and goes on a 3 year bike journey across much of Southern Europe and Northern Africa. Along the way he meets and befriends a guy from Libya, and the two develop a strong bond. At the end of 2010, Matt returns home to Baltimore, much to the relief of his girlfriend Lauren, who cannot believe how much Matt has matured (for the better). Then, just 2 months later, the Arab Spring explodes, including in Libya. Matt decides that he cannot stand idle so he returns to Libya to take up the fight alongside his friends against Omar Gaddafi. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see how it all plays out.Couple of comments: first, this is a very heavy Matt Vandyke-centric documentary. As we get to know him, including video clips from his youth, you can't help but wonder how in the world this guy gets along into his mid-20s without doing anything for himself. But at least he seems to realize that himself as well, reason that he decides to take a "crash course in manhood" (fueled by watching lots of TV and playing lots of video games). The first 30 min. of the documentary focuses mostly on that and the subsequent 3 year/35,000 mi. motorcycle journey (at no point is the question raised how he pays for all this). The remainder of the documentary focuses on his stint in Libya alongside the rebels, and makes for much more interesting viewing. If nothing else, it is fascinating to see archive footage of what Libya was like in those days, and the images are far more nuances that whatever footage we saw from US TV news. Second, as conflicted as I am about Vandyke, who seems mostly interested in himself, you can't help but at the same time also give him kudos for doing what he did, going to a war zone to fight alongside his Libyan friends against a brutal dictator. Beware, there are a number of very brutal scenes that may shock some viewers. Finally, there is a nice instrumental score by James Boxter, and for whatever reason the National also decided to contribute several tracks (including Mistaken for Strangers, and Hard to Find)."Point and Shoot" opened without any pre-release buzz or advertising on a single screen for all of Greater Cincinnati this weekend. I figured this will not be playing log, so I went to see it right away, and at the early evening screening where I saw this at, I got a private screening (as in: I was literally the only person in the theater). This isn't the greatest of documentaries, but I'd still suggest you check it out, be it in the theater or eventually on DVD/Blu-day, and draw your own conclusion about "Point and Shoot".
Reviewed by ertxxpo23 7 / 10

Interesting story of a creepy protagonist

Point and Shoot is remarkable footage of the Arab Spring from an American man who briefly lived it. The trouble is that the man is a textbook unreliable narrator who has an odd, narcissistic streak.Point and Shoot tells the story of Matt VanDyke, a Baltimore man in his late 20s or early 30s who is doted on by his mother and grandmother and lives at home. To prove that he is not a wimp, VanDyke decides he needs an adventure to understand "manhood." He decides to go on a motorcycle ride across the middle east and, through a variety of accidents and decisions over several years, ends up fighting with the Libyan rebels against Gaddafi. VanDyke films many of these encounters and ends up giving them to a full-time director when he returns to the U.S.The footage is very interesting, and the documentary is well-edited. But VanDyke is troubling to watch for most of the film. For example, he asks a friend to film him trying to kill another man, and repeatedly focuses on how his actions in Syria affect his "manhood." VanDyke seems to be overly fascinated with his own image and at the same time unable to understand how poorly his actions will come across on camera. The documentary director does a good job of raising subtle questions about VanDyke's mental state.
Reviewed by soncoman 8 / 10

Narcissus' Pool is Now a Digital Camera

"Point and shoot" can describe what you do with a camera in order to capture life. "Point and shoot" can also describe what you do with a weapon in order to take a life. These two concepts collide in filmmaker Marshall Curry's latest documentary, which just happens to be entitled "Point and Shoot".Curry's film consists mostly of footage shot by its subject, one Matt Van Dyke. Mr. Van Dyke is an excellent representative of the current generation and its incessant need to digitally record each and everything about their lives and then foist it upon the public to provide validation for their existence. Van Dyke, a sheltered (some would say spoiled) individual with mental health issues (he admits to Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but this film leaves you with the feeling there may be a whole lot more at play) decides that he wants to undertake a "crash course in manhood" through North Africa via a motorcycle and, of course, a video camera or two.What might have been a semi-interesting documentary about world travel and the search for meaning in life soon takes a dark turn as Van Dyke ends up fighting on the side of the rebels during the Libyan revolution. Admittedly, there is value in the footage Van Dyke provides that gives us a rare look at a revolution from the inside, but the price we have to pay for that glimpse is more footage of Van Dyke posing and preening for the camera. This culminates in a stomach-churning scene where Van Dyke is pressed to kill a Libyan soldier, which at first he seems reluctant to do, but ultimately accepts – only after making sure his camera is recording it.To have a film produced based on footage you shot of yourself must be a narcissist's wet dream. Van Dyke probably sees the release of this film as validation for all the choices he made and affirmation of his "manhood". At first glance, Curry seems to have provided this validation. Look deeper and you'll see a trenchant commentary on the voyeuristic nature of society today and how the meaning of "manhood" has changed from personal growth that is reached through a series of challenges and encounters to the filming and public exhibition of said transformation for all to see.Matt Van Dyke's camera was clearly pointed at himself. Marshall Curry figuratively takes Van Dyke's camera and turns it back on us. As much as we don't like what we see in Van Dyke, when we think about what we watch today, be it "entertainment" or otherwise, should we feel any better about ourselves?"Point and Shoot" is as frustrating and infuriating a film as I've seen in a long time.
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