The film feels a little too content to lean on southern passive aggression rather than face the discourse at its heart.

Natchez is full of quietly charged moments in dreamily scenic surroundings, one result of Noah Collier’s lush cinematography, deployed like a deliberately performative nostalgia that lets us know there’s always more to see if we look closely enough.

The wish the mayor voices slowly cracks apart; we witness progressively more uncomfortable encounters that show how even agreed-upon histories clash with one another.

Without spelling it out, Suzannah Herbert's documentary, which aired as part of PBS's Independent Lens, exemplifies George Santayana's saying about "those who cannot remember the past" with wit and artistry, but no lack of urgency.