Some would tell you that the best documentaries teach you something about life or love or the universe. 

I disagree. 

For me, the best documentaries hold space for listening. The best documentaries are about our relationships with each other, our communities, and the world around us. I've long believed this cinematic truth is one of many reasons the legendary Albert Maysles is, in fact, so legendary. 

I can't help but believe it's also one of many reasons that David Usui so masterfully captures a tapestry faith and science, relationship and connection. 

Been Here Stay Here is a gentle yet powerful whisper of a film. Set on Tangier Island a centuries-old Christian fishing community existing a mere five-feet above seal level in Virginia's Chesapeake Bay, Been Here Stay Here is quietly rebellious in the ways in which Usui refuses to serve up the kind of expert-led, data-driven documentary we're expecting this to be. Instead of numbers, we're brought face-to-face with the resolutely and faithfully lived reality of a community facing the slow erosion of its land and its way of life. 

"This is America," I kept thinking to myself as I watched Been Here Stay Here. Yet, Tangier Island has long been considered one of America's first climate casualties. It's an island that has lost over two-thirds of its land mass since the 1850s. This way of life feels both a little frightening and profoundly spirit. This is not a community that denies the reality of their situation. They simply don't surrender to it. As we listen to folks like Mayor James Eskridge and Cameron Evans, we're struck by a connection that seems to defy description and a sense of surrender grounded within a deep sense of devotion and faith. 

Inspired by the work of climate scientist and Evangelical Christian Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, Been Here Stay Here is built upon a connection that is reflected throughout the film. People stay, I'd surmise, because this is where they belong and there's a deep faith in that. Logic would tell them it is time to go, perhaps before it is too late. However, there is a time to simply trust and this is one of those times. 

There is tragedy, of course, within the cinematic walls of Been Here Stay Here. There's an awareness that it's taken us too long to believe and to somehow reconcile the coexistence of faith and science. It is coming now, though it is hard to believe it's too little and too late. 

Been Here Stay Here is a beautiful film from Usui, a thought-provoking work deserving of being seen in both science and religion classes, afterschool clubs and Sunday Schools. It's a film that has me thinking still even as I write this review. Beautifully photographed by Peter Steusloff along with Usui, Been Here Stay Here is the kind of film that stays with you long after the closing credits and makes you want to learn more and do better not just for yourself but for the world around you.

Written by Richard Propes
The Independent Critic