The History of Concrete

How does a filmmaker get the greenlight for their dream documentary project amid an ongoing industry contraction? If you’re the idiosyncratic mastermind behind HBO’s How To with John Wilson, you attend a workshop on pitching saccharine Hallmark movies then apply all the same best practices to your own film: an in-depth investigation of concrete (the most ubiquitous of building materials).

With his first feature, documentarian and humourist Wilson continues his methodology of starting with a seemingly straighforward idea and using it as a jumping off point for frequently absurd and endlessly entertaining detours, asides, and digressions. Maintaining the format of his series, History of Concrete sees Wilson adroitly assembling low-resolution verité vignettes into collages that complement his deadpan philosophising. Guiding it all is Wilson’s infectious sense of inquiry and laudable desire to retain his artistic freedom in defiance of the powers-that-be.

Rich in an authentic sense of discovery, not least because its titular subject, superficially banal, is also profoundly and strangely universal. For Wilson, concrete turns out to be remarkably, pointedly, urgently political.

Richard Brody, New Yorker

Consistently laugh-out-loud funny, compelling and surprising.

Adrian Horton, The Guardian

You’re left wondering how a movie about concrete could leave a lump in your throat. But that’s how Wilson works, making us see what we might not have otherwise.

Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times