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Phoenix, Oregon

You’re never too old to reinvent yourself. Bobby (James Le Gros), a middle-aged bartender, hasn’t quite figured this out yet. He’s spent too many years of his life just coasting by. After the sudden death of his mother and the dissolution of his marriage, Bobby has spent his time working the bar at a local restaurant and chipping away at his work-in-progress, a graphic novel memoir. When his old crush Tanya (Lisa Edelstein) pops back into his life, he’s too timid to whisk her away from her suitor, a debonair investor named Mario (Reynaldo Gallegos).

Bobby has become complacent, a bit too comfortable in his situation. He’s sitting on a nest egg of $50k but chooses to live in his airstream trailer and continues to work for the morale killing, tip stealing boss Kyle (Diedrich Bader). But his buddy Carlos (Jesse Borrego), a talented chef who works at the restaurant, has an idea. They should invest their money into a new concept: a local bowling alley/pizzeria that offers more than just cheap entertainment and greasy fare. Bobby suddenly finds a new purpose in life. Will he realize his dream and get the girl? Or will he just go back to his usual humdrum life?

“Are we all just a bunch of ones and zeros?”

Written and directed by Gary Lundgren, Phoenix, Oregon is a heartfelt exploration of self-reinvention, friendship and love. It’s for anyone who felt that age was a roadblock to forging a new path in life. It also champions the notion that you don’t have to accept your situation as it is, that you can always take steps, no matter how big or small, to live a happier and more fulfilling life. Phoenix, Oregon is a small city in the southern part of the state but within the context of the film, Phoenix, which is also referenced in the name of the bowling alley-pizzeria, Rising Phoenix, is symbolic of rebirth. Of shedding the old and starting anew.

This film really checked off a lot of boxes for me. The focus on middle-aged characters looking to reinvent themselves really resonated with me. I’m getting very close to middle age and am growing tired of watching films about young people starting their lives. Also, there are so many films now with diverse casts, which is fantastic, but the Latinx community is still largely missing from that equation. I was grateful to see so many Latinx actors/characters in this film including the main character of Carlos, played by Jesse Borrego, who is a supremely talented chef and is tired of wasting his talents on a soul crushing job. He’s more than just a buddy character who serves to support the protagonist. I really enjoyed the performances overall. Le Gros and Edelstein have great chemistry. Bader is hilarious as the evil restaurant manager Kyle. Another win for me was the graphic novel conceit. Throughout the film, Bobby’s hand drawn illustrations flashback to his old life, giving the viewer a sense of who he is and where he’s come from through the lens of some terrific graphic novel art.

“It’s a bizarre day when you realize you’re middle-aged, especially when you were just in your prime with your whole life in front of you. Somehow we fool ourselves into thinking we have more time than we do.”

Director Gary Lundgren

Phoenix, Oregon will lift your spirits. Seek this one out. You won’t be sorry you did.

This film is available to watch online through a theatre at home platform which allows viewers to choose which independent theatre to support with their ticket purchase. Visit the official website for more information.

Posted Film Reviews

The Wolf House/La casa lobo

After escaping from a commune of German religious fanatics, Maria has escaped into the Chilean countryside and stumbles upon a house where two pigs live. Maria moves in and imagines the pigs to be children,naming them Pedro and Ana. The house is an ever-changing structure and Maria, Pedro and Ana take on many forms and appearances. As Maria finds herself stuck in this evolving nightmarish reality, the wolf, who lives in the nearby forest, threatens to keep them all trapped inside. 

“The Wolf House is a feature film where beauty, fear, disorder and the narrative itself are born from the precarious and permanent states of change. It is the story of a beautiful young woman who is held captive, but it is also the story of a physical and mental world that falls apart, destroys itself and renews itself time and again.”

Director’s statement – Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña

Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña’s The Wolf House/La casa lobo features mesmerizing stop animation and constantly shifting imagery to illustrate the pain of extreme isolation. The story is based on the sordid history of Colonia Dignidad, a secretive sect of German emigres in Chile who became particularly notorious for child molestation and the torture and murder of prisoners during Augusto Pinochet’s military regime. The main character Maria has escaped from the sect and the house symbolizes a sort of in-between space where she sheds her old life and prepares to re-enter society. The wolf is that society, which is perceived as a threat but in reality is not. Much like the actual wolf which has been hurt over the centuries by unshakable falsehoods. The film is narrated by a male voice from the sect that haunts Maria’s existence. The story also draws from the classic children’s fable The Three Little Pigs. 

Chilean filmmakers León and Cociña’s feature film debut is an impressive feat. Produced over several years, it incorporates stop animation with papier mâché puppets made of cardboard, tape and other materials, and paint on the house’s walls and floors. The characters inhabit the house both in three dimensional form and within the walls themselves. It’s quite a marvel to behold. Viewers who enjoy innovative stop animation films and unique storytelling will want to seek out The Wolf House/La casa lobo.

The Wolf House/La casa lobo releases in virtual theaters today. Visit the official website for more information.

Posted Female Filmmakers

CRSHD

“You make things hard for yourself, don’t you?”

Izzy Alden (Isabelle Barbier) needs to get laid. She promised herself that she’d lose her virginity by the end of her freshman year in college. And with finals just around the corner, she’s running out of time. The problem with Izzy is that she’s hopelessly awkward. She doesn’t have the same natural confidence and social intelligence that her two best friends Fiona (Sadie Scott) and Anuka (Deeksha Ketkar) do. Fiona works at the local bowling alley and is lusting after the popular lesbian on campus. Anuka is Izzy’s closest ally but is dealing with her own drama of her complicated feelings for her long-distance boyfriend Juju (Dylan Rogers) and the hot blonde guy she spotted in the cafeteria. Izzy is determined to get an invite to a Crush party, where only people who are submitted as a crush can attend. But Izzy keeps sabotaging herself by putting her friendships at risk and ignoring the one guy, Oliver (Raph Fineberg), who is genuinely interested in her.

CRSHD is a quirky and authentic coming-of-age story that speaks directly to social media savvy youth. Director Emily Cohn wrote the script at age 21, produced it at 22 and wrapped up post-production by 24. She incorporates social media, texting and dating app technology into her film by having the characters act out the communications on screen. Having a young cast and crew working on the film makes the end result more relevant to its intended audience. Cohn and her team have assembled a fine cast of players. Barbier, Ketkar and Scott have natural chemistry with each other. Viewers will feel like they’re watching three friends rather than watching three actors playing friends.

“As a filmmaker, I’ve been interested in finding ways to make a computer or tablet or phone act not only as a prop, but also as a scene partner, since these devices often carry the weight of human emotion but lack the cinematic nuance to convey it.”

Director Emily Cohn

The cast is diverse with different races, ethnicities and sexual orientations represented. There has been a lot of discussion about diversity in film and TV as being forced to meet certain criteria. I appreciate films like CRSHD that demonstrate that this is a natural way of things. It also deconstructs beauty standards and highlights how beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder and should not to be mandated by some artificial cultural norms.

CRSHD is available via virtual cinemas May 8th. Visit the official website for more information.

Posted Female Filmmakers

Bull

14-year-old Kris (Amber Havard) is restless. With her mother in jail, she and her sister are spending the summer with their aunt. To impress the local kids, she breaks into the house of neighbor Abe Turner (Rob Morgan), a rodeo clown away at work. Kris hosts a wild party leaving Abe’s home a total disaster. It’s obvious that Kris is going down the same path as her mom, one of crime and recklessness. A deal is made in which Kris will pay for her break-in by cleaning Abe’s house and doing chores for him. Kris is swept up in the world of the rodeo and develops an interest in bull riding. Abe, tortured by old injuries and a penchant for drink, sees his livelihood slipping away from him. Will Kris and Abe be able to help each other before their lives spiral out of control?

Directed and co-written by Annie Silverstein, Bull is a meandering drama that explores the pains of self-destruction. The film takes its time with its characters. There is no rush to get to any big event or final conclusion. This allows viewers to really settle into this world. The film’s major weakness is having a principal character, Kris, with no redeeming qualities. It’s clear that she’s following in her mother’s footsteps and is lacking the guidance to put her on the right path. But there is very little, if anything, to make us empathize with her plight. Abe is a more dynamic and complex character. By the end, the film left me frustrated and ready to move on.

Bull is available on VOD through Samuel Goldwyn Films. You can watch it on Amazon Prime, iTunes and other platforms.

Posted Documentaries

A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps

“Helping other nations build the strength to meet their own problems, to satisfy their own aspirations, to surmount their own dangers. The problems in achieving this goal are towering and unprecedented. The response must be towering and unprecedented.”

President John F. Kennedy

The Ugly American by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick, published in 1958, demonstrated how Americans working abroad failed to integrate with local communities allowing Russians, who did in fact integrate, to spread Communism. President John F. Kennedy read the book and was spurred to action. His goal was to have Americans volunteer to combat hunger, fight for civil rights and promote world peace by working within the communities they were helping. On September 22nd, 1961, Congress voted to make the Peace Corps a permanent agency.

“To help young Americans understand the rest of the world is vital to American leadership. How can you lead a world you don’t understand?”

Photo courtesy of First Run Features

Directed by Alana DeJoseph and narrated by Annette Bening, A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps is a soup to nuts exploration of the history of this government sponsored volunteer program from 1961 to present day. Viewers learn how the agency has evolved over several presidential administrations with notable high and low points. The documentary features extensive interviews with Peace Corps staff, former volunteers and experts. Notable talking heads include former president Jimmy Carter, Maria Shriver, U.S. representative Joe Kennedy III and former Peace Corps director Carrie Hessler-Radelet. There is plenty of archival footage and photographs of those early days of the Peace Corps. The phrase “A Towering Task” is reference to a document that Sargent Shriver, who was assigned by JFK to put his idea into action, and his task force wrote laying out the plans for the Peace Corps.

Perhaps the documentary’s most significant impact will have is through the voice of the volunteers. The story of Peace Corps volunteers in the Dominican Republic today (helping develop an ecotourism business) and during the revolution in the 1960s is very inspiring. My mother’s family lived through that revolution and received help from Peace Corps volunteers. I was particularly moved by one Dominican woman’s account of how a volunteer brought her rice and beans when she would have otherwise starved.

At first I felt the documentary might whitewash the history of the Peace Corps. However, it does explore some of the issues that have plagued the agency including its reputation as a haven for draft dodgers as well as the inaction on the part of higher ups to address sexual assault. It also discusses whistleblower Kate Puzey, a volunteer murdered in Benin. The film addresses the recent Ebola outbreak in Africa but was made before the current Coronavirus pandemic in which the Peace Corps, for the first time in its history, pulled all of its volunteers from service. 

A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps is a comprehensive look at the history of an agency born out of both patriotism and altruism in an effort to good for mankind.

A Towering Task will have a virtual theatrical release on May 22nd. Visit the First Run Features website for more information.

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