Banner Bandits (2017)

Guam. A place I'd genuinely never expected to tick off on my A-Z World Movie Tour, and honestly, after sitting through Banner Bandits, I'm still not entirely sure I've experienced it in any meaningful sense. This isn't a film, really. It's a documentary short that stretches itself well beyond its welcome, and no amount of good intentions can save it from feeling like a very long, very repetitive PowerPoint presentation.

The subject matter is genuinely interesting, I'll give it that. The film looks at alcohol and tobacco advertising in Guam and makes a pretty compelling case that these campaigns are deliberately targeted at children and young people. That's a real issue, and in the opening stretch, it's handled with some focus and care. The filmmaker has clearly done their homework, spent time gathering data, analysing adverts, putting the evidence together. There's a legitimate argument being made here, and for the first ten minutes or so, I was actually with it.

But then it just... keeps going. And going. And going. For nearly an hour in total, which is roughly forty-five minutes longer than the film needs to be. Once you've made your point, you've made your point. Repeating it with slightly different visuals or another interview that essentially confirms what the last interview said doesn't strengthen the argument, it just dilutes it. By the halfway mark I was watching the clock, which is never a good sign.

The interviews are the biggest problem. They don't really add anything new to what's already been established. Nobody says anything that shifts the conversation or complicates the picture. They largely just nod in agreement with the thesis, which means the film ends up talking to itself for the back half of its runtime. A tighter edit, say twenty minutes, and this could have been a punchy, effective short doc with something to say. As it stands, it's a struggle.

I kept thinking about what a properly made documentary can do when it has the same kind of investigative spirit but the discipline to shape it properly. Something like Lessons of Darkness (1992) shows how you can take a real-world subject and craft something that hits you hard and stays with you, without overstaying its welcome. Banner Bandits doesn't have that instinct for economy.

Look, I wanted to find an actual feature film for my Guam entry. I really did. And if you've been following the A-Z tour, you'll know that sometimes you're working with what's available. Next Goal Wins (2014) was a lovely surprise when I got to American Samoa, so I had some hope. Guam didn't deliver the same luck.

I don't want to be entirely harsh on Banner Bandits because the person behind it clearly cares about the issue and has put real effort into researching it. That matters, and the cause is worthwhile. But caring about your subject isn't the same as making a compelling film, and this one doesn't quite manage to be either. It's informative, sure, in the same way a long council report is informative. You come away knowing something you didn't before, but you wouldn't rush to recommend the experience to anyone.

One and a half stars. Worthy intentions, stretched far too thin.

Rating: ★½  | Year: 2017  | Watched: 2025-06-23

View on Letterboxd →

Related on Movies With Macca

More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More documentary: Letter from Siberia (1957) · Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Style Wars (1983) · Here and Elsewhere (1976)