Manhattan, Kansas

Directed by by Tara Wray
Documentary Educational Resources

Mother and daughter relationships are always difficult, but Manhattan, Kansas shows a whole other side that may make you rethink your own relationship. Tara and her mother were incredibly close, so much so that her mother pulled her out of school for home schooling so that they would never have to be apart. But around the time Tara turned twenty and signed the lease for her first apartment, her mother had a mental breakdown, threatening to kill herself and Tara. After that, Tara moved to the East Coast to have her own life and cut off contact from her mother. Through this documentary, she traveled to Kansas in order to reconnect with her mother, and find out what made her mother lose control.

Tara goes through an emotional journey throughout the film, both through confronting her mother and discussing her past experiences with a therapist. One of the other members of the documentary team interviewed Tara’s mother, which reveals more about her mentality, but also how she sees her relationship with Tara. It is heart wrenching for Tara to see her mom without a permanent home or job; when filming began, she was living with a cult and trying to find the Geodentric center of the Earth (which Tara helps her find). By the end of the film, Tara has come to terms that her family and relationship with her mother will never be normal, even when her mother finds herself a normal relationship.

Manhattan, Kansas is extremely emotional; it will make you question your own relationship with your mother, because there is no such thing as a “normal” relationship. The film has its moments where you will tear up, and Tara’s expression of emotion will have you pulling for her and her pursuit for a happy family.

Review by Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch