Natchez

Coming to terms with one’s own dubious past can be challenging, difficult and even embarrassing. That’s true not only for individuals but potentially entire communities. And one such case can be found in the Mississippi River community of Natchez, MS. As the oldest settlement on the Mississippi River, this city of 14,000 today struggles to define its identity as one that celebrates yet accepts its history as a place of both grand elegance and unrepentant human exploitation. Writer-director Suzannah Herbert’s incisive documentary succeeds in presenting a balanced assessment of a community that’s proud of the lavish architecture and beautiful gardens that have come to characterize it as an icon of the Old South (and made it a popular tourist destination) but that has also had to wrestle with the unsavory reputation of how that way of life came into being, one built on the backs of Black slaves who toiled in the fields of the region’s cotton plantations. Many contemporary residents like to believe in the notion that Natchez has become a symbol of the New South, one that accepts racial tolerance and equality (a blue enclave in an otherwise-red state as one resident observes). But then there are those who zealously cling to the genteel ways of antebellum culture who are reluctant to acknowledge (let alone discuss) how it came to pass, not to mention how it almost vanished in the wake of the Civil War and during Reconstruction. Owning up to that checkered history has thus placed Natchez in a position of having to reconcile these issues as it seeks to move forward in shaping its future. Indeed, in an age where cancel culture has gained considerable ground in recent years, is it still acceptable for manor house docents to conduct tours wearing hoop skirts and show off their structures’ unbridled ostentation, or are these elements of the past best forgotten? Or do these practices serve as valuable reminders of a past that we dare not forget lest we run the risk of losing sight of the atrocities and inequities associated with them? Or is there some kind of workable middle ground to be had here, one that can help everyone heal from those ordeals gone by? Those are the thorny questions this film attempts to answer, and it does so with an admirably skillful hand, one that shows both the beauty and the ugliness that have made Natchez what it is, as well as the present-day initiatives that are being undertaken to steer the city in a new direction for the future. The picture’s gorgeously colorful cinematography is a sight to behold, especially in its dreamlike cinematic allusions to films like “Gone with the Wind” (1939), all backed by an equally beautiful original score. Its candid interviews with its colorful residents provide a mosaic of viewpoints reflective of the various perspectives that Natchez residents hold. And it’s all presented with an even hand, one aimed at fairly but honestly depicting the outlooks at play here. For its efforts, “Natchez” was deservedly named one of the Top 5 Documentaries of 2025 by the National Board of Review, and it will be receiving a national broadcast audience on PBS once it completes its theatrical run. It takes courage to face up to one’s past, and, even though there’s still work to be done in this community at a cross-roads it appears to be making progress in that regard, doing so with grace, growing candor and a sense of acknowledging (but not forgetting) its own legacy.