Sweetgrass

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: A documentary about the part of Brokeback Mountain that no one remembers: the sheep herding.

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: The last cowboys in America. No, really, they were the last ones to ever do this particular sheep herding journey through Montana's Absaroka-Beartooth mountains. And by the way, they're not gay.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Stop! You're probably wondering why I went to a movie about sheep being herded, and the reason is, I have no idea.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Some sheep sure do know how to deadpan! Which is just one example of how this film with almost no dialogue, and a lot of nothing going on, actually finds quite a bit of humor in even the most seemingly mundane aspects of the farm and the wilderness.

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Sometimes you do feel really sorry for the sheep. Especially when they're just born, and are immediately dragged across the floor to be separated from their mommies. But also right after that, when they get other young lambs thrown on top of them, as they attempt to take their first breath of life.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: As much as you're probably not going to like it, I wouldn't be surprised if the Awards givers do. Especially those Indy Spirit nominators.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: There is a young, dumb cowboy, who seems to have a vocabulary made up of only about ten words, nine of which are expletives, and the tenth of which is "the", and in one scene this macho-man's man breaks into tears about how awful this job is, as the camera pans the majestic scenery that surrounds him. Clearly the filmmaker is pointing out the irony, so even though he's crying, it's okay for you to laugh.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: I hate to say this about a film that is so slow and long for what it has to say but, the directing is truly excellent. Picturesque shots that don't move or change for up to 10 minutes at a time manage to hold your attention like some kind of meditation that has just been forced upon you.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Aside from this depicting a piece of history that has recently (2003) become an obsolete practice, there is no story, and most of the dialogue sounds like, "Baaaaah"-- or some variation thereof. (I never realized before how often sheep Moo, like they're cows.)

Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?

A: Getting sheared looks really relaxing. I would like to try that someday. Or maybe I could just get a massage.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdC2OvtzdE8

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Waltz with Bashir

Q: What’s the movie about?

A: Waltz with Bashir is an animated documentary with subtitles about trying to remember being a soldier in the first Israeli-Lebanon war of the early 80s... Have I sold you on it yet?

Q: Who’s in the movie?

A: The writer-director, Ari Folman, and a bunch of his friends, therapists, and battle-mates.

Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?

A: Proceed with Caution. If you weren't scared off by the parts of the description that mention animation, documentary, subtitles, war, Israel, or Lebanon, then you are probably into highbrow, art movies about serious matters that make you think about what they're trying to say instead of just telling you, and you should absolutely see this movie because you will think it's a masterpiece.

Q: Will this movie make me laugh?

A: Has Beirut ever been funny?

Q: Will this movie make me cry?

A: Only if you cry at trivial little things like genocide.

Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?

A: It won almost all of the Israeli Academy Awards, so it follows that it is Israel's official submission for the foreign language category at the Oscars.

Q: How is the Acting?

A: I was given a program at my screening, which included a director's bio that describes how he went off to travel the world for a year, and after two weeks, he realized he hated traveling, so he settled down in Southeast Asia and spent the rest of the year writing letters to his friends pretending to be in all the different places he was supposed to have gone. His point was that his ability to use his imagination to fabricate these letters was what lead him to decide to become a filmmaker. My point is that I don't buy that this is a documentary. I think the use of animation is the perfect cover-up for the fact that this story and these characters are in part or in whole totally made up. Now that that's been cleared up, I can tell you that the acting is fine.

Q: How is the Directing?

A: The animation is captivating from the first frame to the last.

Q: How is the story/script?

A: Another way in which the writer covers up the fact that this story is (allegedly-- according to me) invented and fabricated, is by starting the movie out with a fascinating tid-bit about how the human memory works. One of the characters explains how when the mind can't remember something, it fills in the rest with whatever fits into the parts it remembers. This is then used to justify the fact that all the first person accounts of what supposedly happened in the various battles, 20 years ago, could also be in part or in whole totally made up. That said, the way in which this film examines the faultiness of memory is what I found most intriguing about it.

Q: Where can I see the trailer?

A: http://www.moviefone.com/search/waltz%20with%20bashir/trailers

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