There's no greater political circus than an American election year, and the GOP leadership race in 2012 was as fascinating, furious and dirty as you'd expect. AJ Schnack's account of the crucial Iowa caucus showdown is an expertly assembled old-school verité-style political doc in the tradition of Primary and The War Room, focusing on the sheer roller coaster turns and switches that can make a campaign one week and shatter it the next. Featuring such briefly viable conservative contenders as Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, the movie again raises the eternally pertinent question of whether there's any substance to this or if it even matters any more.
April 30, 5:30 p.m., Lightbox; May 2, 11 a.m., Bader.
Geoff Pevere