How to Start Your Own Country

Sporadically intriguing yet ultimately needless, How to Start Your Own Country essentially documents the efforts of certain individuals and corporations at creating self-sufficient, wholly independent states. Director Jody Shapiro initially does a nice job of capturing the viewer’s interest, as the filmmaker kicks the proceedings off with a tongue-in-cheek look at the nation of Molossia – which is a 1.3 acre territory located in Nevada. It’s a lighthearted and frequently hilarious sequence (eg Kevin Baugh, the leader of Molossia, notes that he always raises his flag “unless it’s snowing and I don’t feel like putting it up”) that is unfortunately not indicative of everything that follows, with Shapiro’s repetitive modus operandi ensuring that the movie ultimately does become a lamentably interminable experience. The filmmaker’s inability or refusal to delve deeper into his subjects’ lives (ie why are they doing this?) ensures that the movie possesses an awfully superficial vibe, and it’s also worth noting that Shapiro’s reluctance to speak to even one dissenting voice proves disastrous. The end result is a well-intentioned documentary that nevertheless plays like something you’d watch in a high school geography class, which ensures that the film is ultimately only able to hold the viewer’s attention for just a few minutes at a time (although it admittedly does seem likely that those with an inherent interest in the subject matter will find more to embrace here than neophytes).

*1/2 out of ****