Synopsis: Documentary about the odd inhabitants of a small town in Florida
Director: Errol Morris
Actors: none
Date: 1981
How viewed: Rented from Lovefilm
Rating: 2/5
David Meyer says:
The director's voice is never heard, no questions are asked, and Morris encourages his subjects to talk on and on. At first it's maddening, then hypnotic, then, as comprehension dawns, inspiring.
I say:
I think, without the introduction by Nick Broomfield, I would have found this little documentary somewhat strange and extremely boring. However, Nick Broomfield talks about it being groundbreaking in its style, allowing the characters Morris choses to film to ramble on at length, to echo the feelings of emptiness and timelessness of the town, and one needs to understand its place in cinematic history. Nevertheless it is not a barrel of laughs, or hugely engrossing, and I fell asleep several times (but re-watched it in case I missed something exciting - I didn't). The main character is a chap who goes out in the woods shooting turkey, waiting for days listening for their distinctive gobbling call and/or tracking their footprints. He proudly shows his board of turkey trophies - feet and beards!! Elsewhere the local policeman sits in his patrol car waiting to catch speeding drivers, and old men talk about water, and God, how sand grows, and show us their tortoise and possum. Hmmmm. However, I realised how valuable it is to have these non-main-stream films put into context by experts in the field - do you remember Alex Cox's introductions to the films shown on Moviedrome?
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