By Stephen Milek
It's always a difficult decision deciding what our partner film will be during the festival. This year we wanted to do something different and went with a documentary. What struck us from the trailer of Uncertain is how great the cinematography looked and the how intriguing it would getting a glimpse into life of a small town. It was a great decision and the movie truly delivered.
The movie gets its name from the name of the town Uncertain, Texas. The population in Uncertain is 94 and getting smaller. As the sheriff says in the beginning about the town "you have to be lost to find it". The movie focuses on three guys representing three different generations. Henry is the 80 something fisherman who has lived there his whole life and has a strong connection to the lake. Wayne is a recovering drug addict that moved to Uncertain to start a new life. Then there is Zach who at 21 sees no future for himself in Uncertain and struggles with addictions and diabetes. The fourth character in the movie is Caddo Lake. The lake is one of the biggest sources of income for the town but it is being choked off by an invasive weed. So like the town it is uncertain how long the lake will be around.
The movie gets its name from the name of the town Uncertain, Texas. The population in Uncertain is 94 and getting smaller. As the sheriff says in the beginning about the town "you have to be lost to find it". The movie focuses on three guys representing three different generations. Henry is the 80 something fisherman who has lived there his whole life and has a strong connection to the lake. Wayne is a recovering drug addict that moved to Uncertain to start a new life. Then there is Zach who at 21 sees no future for himself in Uncertain and struggles with addictions and diabetes. The fourth character in the movie is Caddo Lake. The lake is one of the biggest sources of income for the town but it is being choked off by an invasive weed. So like the town it is uncertain how long the lake will be around.
The movie has a very cinema vérité feel about. We get very little background on the town itself other than what we see through the eyes of the three guys. But we do learn a lot of the background on the three guys. We learn both Henry and Wayne have been in prison for murder (we get some glimpses crime scene photos) and Zach's struggle to cope with his mom being taken away after a psychotic breakdown. But for the most part it's just these three guys going about their daily lives. Wayne's story ends up being comical as he hunts a hog he calls Mr. Ed and possibly gets a video of UFO's (which I hoped they would get more into but didn't).
Directors Ewan McNichol and Anna Sandilands do a great job of telling the men's stories while making it feel organic. They also filmed it beautifully. The movie looks fantastic especially the scenes of Henry on the lake and it gives it the Southern Gothic feel.
Overall: B+. The film look gorgeous and presented an engaging look at the lives of the three men. The only drawback of the cinema vérité style they used was the lack of a feeling of closure. They ended the movie and we are left with lots of questions. But still a great look at the small town life from these guys perspective.
Directors Ewan McNichol and Anna Sandilands do a great job of telling the men's stories while making it feel organic. They also filmed it beautifully. The movie looks fantastic especially the scenes of Henry on the lake and it gives it the Southern Gothic feel.
Overall: B+. The film look gorgeous and presented an engaging look at the lives of the three men. The only drawback of the cinema vérité style they used was the lack of a feeling of closure. They ended the movie and we are left with lots of questions. But still a great look at the small town life from these guys perspective.
RSS Feed