Matt Green seems to get asked a lot what he does for work. The answer, which he repeats well over a dozen times in the new documentary “The World Before Your Feet,” is “nothing.” Not because he can’t, isn’t qualified, or is independently wealthy (though it often feels that way), but because he just doesn’t. This answer, of course, leaves people feeling incredulous. Because how else do you define Matt? Sure, he’s walked across America, from New York to Oregon, and is currently walking every block, sidewalk, bridge, and park in New York City, but if he doesn’t work, who is he?
Matt and his lack of employment is only a small part of ‘The World Before Your Feet’. Written, produced, edited, and directed by Jeremy Workman, it’s representative of both him and the film, mostly because both seem adamant to defy the conventional rules they are supposed to conform to. Not only does Matt not work, but he doesn’t really have any reason behind why he has undertaken the six-plus-year task of walking every inch of New York. He doesn’t plan on writing a book or turning his experience into anything monetary (though this film seems to be doing that for him), and he claims to lack any guiding philosophical motivation. He’s just doing it because he wants to. “The World Before Your Feet” is similar in that it eschews a traditional narrative: it picks up with Matt in the middle of his journey and ends far before he does, opting for mosaic experiences over anything linear. The point is never to understand Matt or his adventure, but simply to experience it alongside him. And maybe, if we’re lucky, to see New York (or the world) through the loving eyes that he does.
Gary Joshua Garrison 