Guess who’s coming to burn a cross on your lawn? Noted white supremacist (now there’s a tagline for a business card) Craig Cobb decided a North Dakota town would be just right for seeding a nationwide racist movement.
So he moved to tiny Leith, population 24 or so. Buying a few bargain-basement properties, Cobb hatched a plan to get other white-power advocates to settle there, take over the town council, and live the dream.
This crackpot is the central figure of “Welcome to Leith,” a documentary account of what happened when the residents of Leith found out what Cobb was up to.
Co-directors Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K. Walker include interviews with Cobb, who isn’t shy about providing access to the filmmakers. Given the fact that he goes around town barking, “I’m one of the most famous racists in the world!” to terrified locals, this self-aggrandizement is perhaps not surprising. (Cobb is the guy who made headlines when he submitted a DNA test to an NBC show that revealed his heritage was 14 percent sub-Saharan African.)
There’s also a pair of hapless young white supremacists who move to Leith with baby in tow; the husband sports a not-fully-grown-in Hitler mustache.
A couple of things deepen this film. One is the sense that even without its white supremacist, Leith would be a fascinating location for a documentary.
Seemingly untouched by the North Dakota oil boom, the town is a collection of quiet people and abandoned shacks. (There’s one black resident, understandably perturbed by the new neighbor.) Its sole business is a bar that might’ve been the set for scenes in “Nebraska” — the Alexander Payne film or the Bruce Springsteen album.
One might also feel just a slight hint of unease about the lengths the townspeople go to get Cobb out of Leith. Theirs is an entirely understandable reaction — Cobb is a loathsome character for whom it would be impossible to feel sympathy — and you’d need a Fritz Lang to truly explore what happens if good people adopt the tactics of their enemies.
Still, the suggestion is there. (A sequence in which the neighbors legally burn down a Cobb property approaches that sort of disquiet.) The story rounds off in a quiet way, resolved yet unresolved. You can’t help thinking Cobb or his equivalent is about to spring out from under the next available rock.
“Welcome to Leith” (three stars)
An uneasy documentary account of white supremacist Craig Cobb’s efforts to establish a white-power base in a tiny town in North Dakota. Cobb, who proudly says he’s “one of the most famous racists in the world,” gives the filmmakers access to his crackpot plans, which are met by a confused but determined local population.
Rating: Not rated; probably PG-13 for language, subject matter
Showing: Grand Illusion theater
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
