Boys State – 8

A scary and depressing documentary about the annual American Legion-sponsored gathering of 17-year-olds, in which 1,200 boys divide into two parties and spend a week forming a government, this one from 2018 in Austin, Texas. Scary and depressing because even at that idealistic age, politics is seen as a cynical exercise and abortion and gun control are the defining issues, neither in a good way. The documentarians do a good job of creating a story with a rooting interest, given they didn’t know the outcome when they started. It’s only too bad they couldn’t manufacture a more inspiriting process or a happy ending.