Graphic by Brianna Stockwell ’28
BY KANNILLE WASHINGTON ’28
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
John Wilson’s “The History of Concrete” premiered at the Sundance film festival on Jan. 22, 2026. Coming off of his HBO show “How to with John Wilson,” which ended in 2023, it has been about three years since he has come out with another big project. During the SAG-AFTRA strikes, Wilson attended a workshop on how to write a Hallmark movie, and subsequently pitched a documentary about concrete using the classic Hallmark formula.
“The History of Concrete,” though marketed as a documentary about concrete, spends its runtime primarily documenting Wilson’s attempt to make a documentary. Initially, he flies to Italy, a country that holds the largest number of documented UNESCO world heritage sites. His search begins as a way to document long standing cement structures and understand how they’ve lasted so long. Throughout the film he spends time at conferences, races, music gigs and mandala sand ceremonies. He speaks to experts in cement, Hallmark producers, city officials and more.
While the film begins in an unserious manner, sporting the crass humor that can make up the spontaneous world around us, it slowly foreshadows its own depth. One interviewee — a man who works in concrete repair — comments, “Nothing lasts forever; except maybe tombstones.” His statement is ironic. Concrete doesn’t last forever as footage throughout the film reveals how quickly concrete begins to fall apart; from sidewalks that split, to walls that crumble, a tombstone will be no different over the course of time.
Towards the end Wilson makes a friend, the lead member of a music group called Nebulus. Though he originally finds himself following the band in an attempt to make the documentary marketable, their friendship grows beyond a business relationship. Each part of the documentary focuses on a seemingly irrelevant but related topic, until he finds the perfect way to bring it all back together.
People live and die. Nothing lasts forever, and like concrete, a solid foundation holds no promise of eternity. Even in Italy, where some structures have lasted thousands of years, ruins decorate the insides of cafes and restaurants, contrasting everyday banality with the finality of decay.
John Wilson delicately walks the line between a comedy and a documentary with empathy. The audience experiences “The History of Concrete” through his recording eye: — Each of us just people, walking through the city, tripping over the cement cracks.
Jillian Stammely ’28 contributed fact-checking.
