Remake (2026) Film Review: Hypnotic Memory Piece

Remake, Ross McElwee’s first film in 14 years, is a frequently dazzling reflection on life, death, and the many connections and paths we navigate along the way.

Nevertheless, Remake isn’t solely about Adrian. It also depicts McElwee’s efforts to adapt his 1986 documentary Sherman’s March into a fictional feature film or television series, as well as touching on his career as a documentarian, the adoption of his second child in Paraguay, and the marriage to his second wife. It is this vast, nearly all encompassing nature that gives Remake a notably scattered tone, especially in its earlier stages. McElwee seems unsure—in the film’s opening parts at least—on where to focus, flitting from his private life to his filmmaking career without much uniformity. It can be a bit overwhelming to follow, but there is still something so vibrant and fervently alive about all of his footage that it never feels like a major problem.

Remake forms into something more cohesive when it turns its attention to Adrian. We see footage of the person as a baby, as a young boy, as a teenager, and as a young adult. Driving the videos are voiceovers from Ross, his drawling, contemplative tone a perfect fit for the hazy nostalgia that imbues these clips. His reflections are frequently moving, such as when he notes Adrian might be alive on film, but not in real life. Things, he states, just disappear, and it is comments like these that cause Remake to not just be an intensely personal memory piece, but also something bigger and universal. 

Film is a powerful device, capturing memories, sensations, feelings in all the most positive ways. But, as McElwee notes, it can also distort reality. To some, the video camera is not a magic wand nor a route into other worlds, but an ugly piece of equipment with little to no value or meaning. Some of Remake’s most pertinent and thought-provoking moments come from these different stances on film and cinema. There will always be different interpretations of art and life. We also witness Adrian’s descent into drug and alcohol addiction, and by the end, Remake is as much about his life as it is about the opioid crisis in America. McElwee wonders whether he contributed to Adrian’s destabilisation by his constant filming, although this aspect is frustratingly underexplored.

From a more practical viewpoint, Remake is an excellently made documentary. It’s an artful, elegiac piece of art that showcases McElwee’s ability to capture everyday life in intricate, moving, and realistic detail. Without this propensity, the images on screen would feel less engaging. The editing, by McElwee and Joe Bini, is always strong and frequently imaginative, despite the cluttered nature of Remake’s opening. This highly personal documentary is so intensely moving that almost any viewer will find something to latch onto, think about, and be affected by.

Remake (2026) will be released in UK and Irish cinemas from 25 September 2026.