Stimulating cinema: Woodpecker

Director: Alex Karpovsky
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.

Stimulating cinema: Ballast

Director: Lance Hammer
Year: 2008

Shot on location in the dirt-poor Mississippi Delta, "Ballast" is the debut feature from director Lance Hammer. And what a feature it is--a mesmerizing look at the lives of three people joined together by their conflicted feelings for a dead man--and for one another.

As the film opens, we see a concerned neighbor (I can do a good impression of said neighbor actually) going to check on the Batiste brothers. Folks are getting worried because the Batiste family grocery has been closed for a few days, no one is answering the phone and no one knows what's going on. It's clear that the Batiste family has a good reputation in the area and people are concerned. We soon learn that one brother, Darius, is laying dead in his bedroom, the victim of an intentional overdose. Lawrence, a 270-pound bear of a man, says nothing to his visitors. He doesn't speak, only stares straight ahead, struggling to comprehend his loss. Suddenly, Lawrence (Michael J. Smith Sr.) bolts from his spot on the couch. We hear a gun shot--Lawrence has tried to kill himself. But it's only a half-hearted effort (he's shot himself in the chest) and he ultimately survives and tries to pick up the pieces of his life.

Meanwhile, single mother Marlee (Tarra Riggs) has her hands full. She's struggling to make ends meet, toiling at thankless menial labor (she works for a cleaning service). Her son would like $20 for basketball sign-ups and even this relative small amount is the source for some genuine worry. The son, James, (JimMyron Ross) meanwhile is flirting hard with trouble. He's not in school and is into drugs. He's also managed to run afoul of the local thugs who claim they are owed money from past transactions. James steals a gun from Lawrence and uses it to rob Lawrence with. He bursts into Lawrence's house and demands cash, waving the gun threateningly and insulting Lawrence. Lawrence, despite his huge size difference and James' uncertainty, offers no resistance--he does what he's order and gives up the cash.

The details of the story unfold real slowly, unrushed but gradually. The director lets us in on details when he's ready. We learn that Lawrence and James have a connection--Darius was Lawrence's twin brother and James' absentee father. We also, ever so gently, learn details about Marlee and Lawrence's strained relationship. They each loved Darius in different ways and that love often put them on opposite sides of the fence, ferociously so at times.

When the pressures mount on James to come up with even more, and faster cash, the move takes a violent, tragic turn. When he foolishly ends up taking a shot a the leader of the gang, all hell breaks loose and he and Marlee are forced to flee their home. The end up taking refuge on the Batiste property (Darius' home with Lawrence residing nearby). This is where the human emotions really start to cook and where the film really hits its stride. Marlee and Lawrence have to set aside their simmering hatred and work together. There's legal matters to deal with--what to do with the property and the story. Sell it and divide the money? Keep it? It's hard enough to sort out this things, and the situation is complicated by the feelings they share for Darius. There's a lot of water under the bridge between these two and the scars are deep.

It took me a little bit to catch on to the ending, which I'm sure a lot of you won't have trouble figuring out. It first, I thought it a little unsatisfying but after digest this movie for a day or so, I have to say it was really awesome, emotional and powerful.

These actors aren't pros--Hammer apparently recruited real people who lived in the area. They are, uniformly, excellent. They are real, they FEEL real, probably because they are real. I think we all have the potential to be a good actor inside of us. We act all the time, at work or school or in our dealings with people. Some are better than others but that ability is in all of us, I believe. By drawing out some amazing performances from these "amateurs," Hammer has created a mini-masterpiece.

The scenery in this movie is amazing. It was shot in the winter, and everything is in shades of cold, gray. The opening shot of James staring out over a field of squawking birds sets the tone for what follows--it's almost dreamlike a lot of the time. And the shades of gray match with the gray areas the characters work in. As much as it would make it easier for us, life (and relationships in particular) aren't in black and white. Sometimes you have to give to get. Sometimes things don't work out. And what's right for you may not be always what's right for me. These are the parameters in which these characters are functioning and the movie depicts their struggles with heart and with gritty beauty.

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