Last year I made it down to the Beloit International Film Festival, but missed the movie I was seeking to watch. The event is held in various locations for a few days in February. The theme of the event is basically giving a venue for people to introduce their independent films and documentaries. I got my times mixed up last year. I did hang out a bit at
Bussel and Peck's, an eatery that screened some of the movies for the festival. I finally got to see my movie a couple weeks later, a documentary - "Fish Fry Night Milwaukee" by Ron Faliola.
This year I had my act together a bit better. I popped on to the film festival's Web site and found a movie that might be of interest to both Heide and I. She recently finished a college class that addressed the subject of ethnic crime syndicates. The independent film
The Russian Cowboy sounded like it might touch on that subject - according to the brief film subject paragraph. And, poetically the film would be shown at 10 p.m. on Saturday night at...
Bussel and Peck's.
Knowing that the festival has gleaned some popularity over the years, and the seating may be full, I ordered a couple tickets on-line from the designated ticket handler. I talked to a soft-spoken young woman out in California. I printed out my tickets from my email and headed with wife in tow to Beloit, Wisconsin. As it turned out, the showing of this particular movie was not crowed.
I have seen the film just this once and will relay my observations from memory of that one viewing.
Bussel and Peck's is in an old retail store building in downtown Beloit. They showed the film back in a space they have set up for events in the old warehouse area. It was a cold night and the old building was cold. Poetically, I think that added to the overall affect of the viewing. It fit right in with the main character's life on the cold and rainy streets.
This flick
The Russian Cowboy kept my attention throughout its 100 minutes. Perhaps it was because I kept wondering if something stunning was actually going to happen. There are quite a few long drawn-out quiet scenes but they are consistent in their reflective theme and style. Maybe it says something about me, but, I will say I apparently do not need to see death, mayhem, and destruction every 30 seconds of a film. Although, I have sat mesmerized through my share of that genre as well. I noticed Heide quietly laughed a few times during the film experience as did the people in the gallery. I would definitely describe the film as quirky, ironic, and at times...funny.
We follow an undocumented young Russian dude through a few days of his life in what I interpret as Arlington, Virginia. He lives in a park and he has gotten in cahoots with a quirky pimp who keeps trying to give him tasks to do. Mr. Pimp sets Russian Dude up with a rich woman to perform as a male prostitute. Russian Dude does not seem to understand his mission and disappoints the pimp by failing to impress the rich woman. So burned out is the pimp he just matter-of-factly gives our main character another task to do - move a suitcase full of marijuana to a drug dealer.
Throughout our visits to the pimp's digs, there is a tattooed naked chick hanging out. She is rather attractive by the way. I don't believe she has even one line in the movie. Yet, she shares prominence in literally every scene with the pimp.
A couple of trademarks of our young main character are his cowboy hat, his small backpack, his hand pulled suitcase, and what looks like an endless supply of Russian looking cigarettes. From time to time he calls his mom from a pay phone. His father has been sick. We are left to assume his folks are back in Russia.
The drug dealer wears a chinese conical hat. Both the dealer and the pimp seem to watch a lot of kung fu movies and Hitler documentaries. Drug Dealer Dude also has a naked woman in his more seedy digs but she likes to masterbate so I guess that qualifies her groans as actual script lines. The drug dealer and the pimp engage in a bit of a feud and continually send Russian Dude back to one another with ridiculous verbal codes supposedly expressing the escalation of said feud.
Throughout the movie, an old Chinese couple in traditional costume and sitting on their couch, pop on the screen from time to time. The old woman gives crass and wry comments while they watch the movie. The old Chinese guy just sits in silence with a stone face. I immediately thought of the old tv show
Mystery Science Theater 3000 where idiot robots and their human friend critique grade B sci-fi movies and awful documentaries.
Throughout the movie, a real mariachi band - actually invades the set - and provides the movie with its music. I suppose they work cheap. It speaks to the movie sticking with a few constant themes: The Chinese couple; the naked babes; the backpack and suitcase; the cowboy hat; the kung fu movies; and the mariachi bunch. You will also see the actor/director Mark Laty who also plays the pimp, play several other parts as well. A trick Peter Sellers has done, but in this movie's case, I suspect the stragy has more to do with limited funds to pay actors. Just a hunch.
My suggestion is that if you can find a copy of the
The Russian Cowboy try to catch a viewing. It would be a shame to be in a nursing home and be told you only have a few hours left to live. By then it might be too late to fit in the 100 minutes necessary to take in the flick.
And, It is probably important for you to try to get down to the Beloit International Film Festival next year to distract yourself from this ongoing bad economy which will no doubt be worse by then. Go to their Web site at
www.beloitfilmfest.org to see what you missed. If you order tickets next year, tell the California chick "hi" for me.
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Private First Class Timothy Robert Hanson, 23, Kenosha, Wisconsin, died on Monday, January 7, 2008 in Salmon Pak, Iraq. PFC Hanson was killed from enemy small arms fire while on guard duty in southeast Baghdad. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division out of Fort Benning, Georgia. His job was as a mortar man. Hanson was born on June 15, 1984. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted Timothy grew up in Kenosha and attended Roosevelt Elementary School and McKinley Middle School before graduating from Indian Trail Academy High School in 2003. He studied history at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside but decided to enlist in the Army. Hanson is known for having lost 35 pounds in just a few months to meet the Army's weight requirements. Hanson entered the Army in April 2006 and was deployed to Iraq in March of 2007. Hanson had been a Boy Scout in his younger years. People remember Timothy as having acquired a fond interest in cinema; a definite movie buff; he was known to enjoy a vast spectrum of movie genres from foreign to romantic comedies. He took many movie DVDs along with him to Iraq. The Journal Sentinel went on to mention that during high school Hanson had a newspaper route for the Kenosha News; during college he worked as a ride operator at Six Flags Great America; and, he also worked in the dairy department at a Kenosha Pick 'n Save. After high school he attended Northern Michigan University for about a year before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. He was remembered as a quiet kid but being very conscientious, mature, and passionate.
At the time of his death Timothy Hanson was survived by his father Robert Hanson; mother Susan (Woodworth) Hanson; sister Jennifer Clope; and, brother Andrew Hanson. Private First Class Timothy Hanson was the 85th Wisconsin military service person to die in Iraq since the spring of 2003.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
99,712 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,830 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,439 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
1476 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
318 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
852 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
32,039 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
10,351 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
103 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
27 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
145 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
21 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; www.defense.gov/news/casualty.pdf; and, icasualties.org.
