The American Dream and The Ark of Lilburn Documentary Review
None of us are under the delusion that the American Dream exists in the same way it did for generations past. That’s not to say said dream was truly accessible to all in previous decades, but the belief that hard work, sticking to it, and aiming high could reap rewards for those bold enough to try wasn’t entirely false either. For the owner and employees of Porter Steel, getting a dream off the ground is still an enterprise worth undertaking.
When Lowry Porter opened his steel working company in 1983, Porter Steel in Lilburn, Georgia, he also made the decision to follow his dream of building a boat out of steel just because he could. Unfortunately, the boat sat unfinished for a long period of time, taking up space and costing the business money. The documentary Ark of Lilburn (2022) is the story of moving this massive vessel out of the warehouse and into a body of water, which only sounds easy to people who have never had to deal with trailers, boats, space, and physics.
Now, I bring up the American Dream to highlight why the boat sat for as long as it did. With the recession of 2008, Porter Steel along with thousands of other businesses had to figure out a way to survive. Porter was paying employees with money he himself barely had so his pet project had to take a backseat so more pressing matters could be sorted. This entire film is a testament to how our system often destroys the dreams of its own citizens. Small businesses have little to no support and there’s no true punishment for those who abuse loopholes that allow for things like predatory lending. Not that Ark of Lilburn explicitly touches on how sad it is for a country so heavily indoctrinated with the concept of building your own dream and making a life for yourself from gumption and ingenuity almost always fails the people who do try – but it’s there in the background. At least for me it was.
Most documentaries take place after an event has happened but Ark of Lilburn is practically in real time during this endeavor in November of 2020. Interview subjects balk at ideas being presented to them for the first time, worry about something scheduled to happen in mere seconds, and argue over logistical costs. It plays out like a tense and exciting film, even though you never lose sight of the fact that it’s a documentary. Similar to Citizen Four, where the filming was taking place as serious incidents were unfolding, The Ark of Lilburn has an energy reminiscent of survival movies. There’s a lot of discussion on how something might not work and how there’s no other option but to plow ahead. The Porter employees watch as the house moving company Modern Movers put the plan into action despite none of them being sure how achievable this is. It’s a real life Fitzcarraldo with southern accents and a business owner who’s permanently attached to his nicotine vape.
One of the Porter employees, Kevin Geeslin, who may or may not be the Vice President of Porter Steel, remarks that there’s a reason ships are built in shipyards and don’t usually have to be carted miles away from their landlocked point of origin. Pat Burdette of Modern Movers explains to Porter the reality of bringing a 20 ft tall vessel out onto the road (hitting utilities), insurance for a project like this (that costs can only be covered so far), and why the price he quoted him is not unrealistic (no explanation necessary). The subtext of a lot of scenes in this documentary is that each of us has a certain level of knowledge and that often what we have in our head that we think is applicable to other situations winds up being useless. Between movers, builders, engineers, and business people, it’s fascinating to watch what information people think is needed or not – also how often tiny details lead to bigger issues and confusion than one might imagine.
As the process takes its steps forward and backwards, we watch family and employee dynamics play out. There’s a complete debacle between the Porter crew and Modern Movers, which bring the whole project to a screeching halt, and a few Porter employees give heartfelt testimony standing behind their boss. Another moving company is brought into the picture as the season change to Christmas then another who make claims of being able to do this project for less money than Modern Movers but both companies walk away after stringing Porter Steel on for weeks.
When the boat is finally on the road, thanks to Arrigoni Marine Movers, there’s a palpable sense of relief from the Porter boys but of course, this is only the start of the battle. Now the ark must be delivered to water via roads which means clearing lights, navigating traffic and other drivers, and hopefully not causing damage to anything. Watching this much oversized load sail down the industrial, suburban, and rural roads of Georgia is anxiety inducing and triumphant.
The happy ending of the The Ark of Lilburn is telegraphed nicely since honestly, very few people watching this film want to see the mission fail. Yet a final scene of the boat taking on water before even leaving port is a funny reminder of how so most of us are figuring it out as we go and not always nailing it the way we want to in our dreams. Still, it’s a true account of a singular dream working out despite the hiccups and what it means to accomplish the impossible.
