Year: 2008
"Whose story do you believe?"
That message, which is emblazoned on a Christmas float shown toward the end of this excellent movie, also doubles as the film's central theme. Working in a documentary style--yet mixing actual people with actors--Karpovsky has created a really interesting and thought-provoking piece of filmmaking which obscures the lines between fact and fiction. Are we watching something or someone that's "real" or not? Karpovsky is certainly playing with the viewer but in the best possible way. And he's playing with the "real" people in the film too, although not maliciously. I'm convinced that Karpovsky didn't set to mock the subjects in the movie and I don't think they felt like they were. It's a fine line though--mixing people's genuine passions and emotions and introducing fictional characters that kind of play up (or play down) those same feelings for laughs. The laughs are subtle and there are also scenes of genuine sadness, regret and longing. I waited a long time to get to see this--having read about it online somewhere--and I devoured it on back-to-back nights, enjoying every second. I am convinced that this movie is a small masterpiece--you really can't praise Karpovsky and the movie's star, Jon Hyrns, quite enough.
The movie takes place in the tiny town of Brinkley, Ark. Located on I-40 between my hometown of Memphis (which also makes a fun appearance in the film) and Little Rock, Brinkley becomes the center of the bird-watching universe when reports start coming in about sightings of the ivory-billed woodpecker. Once thought to be extinct, this "Lord God bird" sparks remarkable interest, attaining an almost mythical quality. Of course, there are believers and non-believers and everyone has an opinion. Karpovsky starts in straight-documentary fashion, setting the stage by talking with civic leaders--who comments on the impact tourists make on the town after word gets out--and bird experts--who debate whether or not the ivory-bill actually exists. These early scenes are some of the best in the movie, as the residents of Brinkley speak about their town and the interest in the ivory-bill with pride and stubborn determination. The area is really depressed (someone comments that the population of the country has dropped from 17,000 to 9,000 in a relatively short time), but maybe, just maybe, news of the ivory-bill will bring in enough traffic from birders and tourists to get things going again.
One of those looking to spot the ivory-bill is Johnny Neander (Hyrns), a house painter/poet from Portland, Ore. Johnny writes poetry, simple odes to birds that are unintentionally hilarious. Imagine going to a fourth-grade recital and some poor kid is on the stage pouring out his soul though a poem. You want to laugh, but you really have to bite your lip. That's what Johnny's poems are like and you just can't help but laugh, even though he is so sincere in what he's writing about. Neander is a bit off, but earnest in his desire to spot the ivory-bill. He craves the attention and adulation that he would get if he did spot it and years to move up the ranks in the birding fraternity. Also in tow is Wes (Wesley Yang), Johnny's Asian sidekick who tagged along. The Wes character really steals the show. He never talks (except just a little at the very end) and we rarely know what he's thinking because he keeps a placid poker face. We don't know if he really likes Johnny and wants to help him find the bird or if he's just goofing on him like we are. But even though he's silent, Wes conveys a lot of comedy and his interactions with Johnny are priceless. It's also surreal watching Johnny and Wes mix with the "real" people of Brinkley. The townsfolk are never quite sure what to make of them and the tension that is generated is real (and really funny). Although somewhat of a nut, Johnny arouses our empathy when he tries to articulate to us exactly why finding this bird is so important to him.
In the final scenes, it starts to become more and more obvious what's real and what's not, but by then you've developed such affection for Johnny and Wes that you are really rooting for them. It's also interesting to go back after watching and listening to the director's comments on what he found in Brinkley when he went back after the filmmaking. When reading about this, I learned that Karpovsky had made an earlier movie in the same vein, called "The Hole Story." I'm looking forward to checking this one out one day and comparing the two.
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