Remote patrol

Rory Kennedy's justly acclaimed 1998 documentary "American Hollow" makes its television debut at 7 p.m. tonight on HBO. Kennedy, who employed a cinema verite style, gains extraordinary access to an extended family in the Appalachian region of Kentucky. Their matriarch, Iree Bowling, lives in poverty - like nearly everyone around her, she receives government aid - but her days are unexpectedly rich as she does her chores, cares for her invalid mother and interacts almost daily with 12 of her 13 children and their children. She has made peace with the world. Not so with everyone in the hollow, especially the young men, jobless, poorly educated, seeing their lives going nowhere. Amazingly, they pour out their rage and frustration to the cameras (the film has strong language). They're caught in a tug-of-war, seemingly tethered to their clan yet desperate for opportunities that are found only far from this isolated valley. >>>