An endearing filmmaker sets out to make a film about the legacy of the Civil War and the lasting impact of General Sherman’s campaign in the South. But rather than an examination of life in the South, the film gets immediately detoured into a rumination on love when the filmmaker’s girlfriend dumps him. Courting serendipity rather than calculation, McElwee creates an epic tale in which he traces General Sherman’s path, but remains inescapably on his own journey to find a good Southern woman. The inimitable film that results signals a bold new register of documentary filmmaking, validating and exposing the mysterious force behind the lens—in this case, a filmmaker as droll as he is profound—in one of the most enjoyable films you’ll ever see.