If you go into The History of Concrete actually hoping to learn the history of concrete, you might leave disappointed. If you go in expecting John Wilson to spend a movie getting increasingly distracted while attempting to make a documentary about concrete, you’re in for something much more interesting.
Best known for HBO’s “How To with John Wilson”, Wilson makes his feature directorial debut with what initially sounds like the most mundane documentary imaginable. After attending a workshop teaching the formula for writing and selling Hallmark movies, he has an idea: why not take that same commercially proven structure and apply it to a documentary about concrete?
Naturally, almost nothing goes according to plan.
A still from The History of Concrete by John Wilson, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. | photo by John Wilson
Wilson does investigate concrete. He meets people working with it, hears how it has affected people’s lives and explores some of the surprisingly serious dangers surrounding a material most of us walk over every day without thinking twice.
But The History of Concrete increasingly stops being about concrete at all.
Instead, we follow Wilson as he attempts to make and sell this increasingly strange movie, encounters celebrities, wanders into people’s lives and documents whatever unusual things happen to catch his attention. Sometimes you’re left wondering what any of this has to do with concrete.
That’s also why it’s so funny.
A still from The History of Concrete by John Wilson, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. | photo by John Wilson
As a conventional documentary, The History of Concrete feels almost hilariously directionless. Yet learning that Wilson’s entire style is built around following seemingly mundane observations down unexpected paths makes that lack of structure feel increasingly intentional. Concrete becomes less the destination than an excuse to observe people.
Eventually, the process of making The History of Concrete becomes more interesting than the history of concrete itself. There’s even something underneath all the absurdity about the difficulty of taking something personal and creative and trying to squeeze it into a commercially acceptable formula.
It’s weird, frequently random and probably won’t teach you nearly as much about concrete as its title suggests. But I laughed a lot.
By the end, I’m still not entirely sure what The History of Concrete was about and somehow, I think that’s the point.
The History of Concrete is available in theatres on September 25th, 2026.
