Shirkers

An irresistible mix of insouciance and precocious maturity. Much of its charm lies in Tan's ironic irreverence as the film's narrator.

What Tan has given us is an incredible, sui generis tribute to the international lingua franca of D.I.Y. cinempowerment.

It's a charming, wistful movie, and I trust Tan will not have to wait another 20 years to direct her next film.

The movie is many things at once.

On one level, Shirkers is a memoir - a fond, self-deprecating mulling-over of Tan's crazy, inspired, partly embarrassing but furiously creative youth.

Deeply personal, fabulously engrossing.

A meditative documentary that is part true crime, part rumination on the nature of creation, and a complete love letter to the transformative power of cinema.

Tan astutely minimizes the mystery of Cardona, refusing to turn the attention of her story to a narcissistic user undeserving of the starring role.

The old footage is transporting, the story contextualizing it of considerable interest.

Tan approaches it from a true-crime mystery angle, stripping it of any nostalgia that might tint her lense.