In case you haven't heard, Detroit is in shambles — 39 percent unemployment, 50 percent illiteracy. But Motor City is also burning, with the most infernos per night nationwide, and one of the most cash-strapped fire departments on hand to tame the blazing beast. Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez's documentary could use more background as to how Motown got this way, but they couldn't have painted a more intimate portrait of the men who endure such daily threats as bathtubs falling through fiery ceilings. Though Detroit's is as tragic an American tale as there is, Burn identifies the only hope that the place has — its dedicated servants. Despite their declining incomes and having to work night jobs, the city's jakes joke around and pull pranks, and find the courage to go on. A heroic tale if there ever was one.
IFFB 2012 | 80 MINUTES | APRIL 27 @ 7:15 | SOMERVILLE THEATRE | DIRECTORS TOM PUTNAM & BRENNA SANCHEZ, EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS JIM SERPICO AND DENIS LEARY IN ATTENDANCE.
