There are those who say that if a prosecution’s only evidence is eyewitness testimony, then there is always and intrinsically a reasonable doubt. After watching The Thin Blue Line, you may be inclined to agree. Errol Morris’s groundbreaking documentary—about a man who spent a dozen years in prison and was almost executed for a murder he didn’t commit—looks at how police officers and other witnesses, including one who says he has the power of “total recall,” couldn’t get their facts straight. More importantly, when the real killer looks back on his life and says he was only hurting himself, it also shows how memory can easily slip from a form of self-knowledge to a form of self-delusion.
—Peter T. Chattaway
Arts & Faith Lists:
2015 Top 25 Films on Memory — #18
2023 Top 25 Spiritually Significant Documentaries — #4