Mule Skinner Blues

Unlike a lot of people who reviewed this film and seem to think it's a crime to look at the lives of people who aren't doing all that well, I enjoyed Mule Skinner Blues and enjoyed these people. True, Beanie was a little annoying and his story got old quickly, but there are some no BS moments where we really get a contrast from the times that he is overly, "on." His description of falling into the depths of alcoholism is enough to scare you sober. Steve and Miss Jeannie are truly interesting characters and I loved "DUI Blues." I think that a bit more time could have been spent on exploring their artistry and a little bit less should have been spent on the making and premiere of Turnabout is Fairplay (sic).

I think everyone is used to watching Hollywood cannibalize itself. It's so predictable, it's amazing that no one out there seems to catch on. Isn't one definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over and always expecting different results? From 27 different Law And Orders to remaking the basic plot of "Halloween" 1000 times over, Hollywood will always find a way to ruin a good thing. Always. It's surprising, however, to see a documentary be such a blatant rip off of another (much better) movie. You'd think with the essentially limitless ideas one can come up with for a documentary, a filmmaker wouldn't have to (or want to) make a blueprint copy of another movie. Yet this movie is pretty much the exact same movie as American Movie. That is, except for the fact that you only catch lightning in the bottle once, and that came in the form of Mark Bourchardt. How those folks found this guy in Wisconsin that wanted to make a horror movie and actually decided to document it is amazing. Muleskinner Blues is pretty much a lame attempt to copy it, right down to the "movie premiere" with the local townsfolk looking on. Rent American Movie instead, for one of the funniest, and most ORIGINAL, documentaries you'll ever see.

After viewing Mule Skinner Blues I came away realizing that it was not like many documentaries that I have seen before. I found it to be highly stylized and incorporated many elements from fiction films. Like fiction films it had an actual soundtrack. It wasn't the usual no frills soundtrack that one finds in a documentary film. The director used fantasy sequences to help us get inside the minds of the characters. There was one particular sequence when Steve Walker was describing Vietnam and the director spliced in footage of explosions and combat sounds to help paint a picture for the viewer. I liked the whole approach to the film and the idea in that it showed a slice of Americana that is not familiar to all of us. The movie shows a different slant on the American dream by showing that these people living in a trailer park have dreams and aspirations to become famous although their situation seems hopeless. The film also acts as a film about a community group. It shows how these former alcoholics and eccentrics band together as a community to help Beanie make his film. Another thing that contributed to my liking this film is the way the director kept the film somewhat fast-paced. He did not allow the editing to lag and become boring. He edited the sequences in such a way that it switched between characters, keeping your interest going and not staying on one character for too long. The director himself said "For me, the greatest sin a filmmaker can make is to create monotony, so it's my goal to make a documentary film that's every bit as thrilling, engaging, and visually stimulating as the fiction genre allows." I also think that the director did an important thing by allowing us to see some of the footage that Beanie filmed with his camera. This helps to show that this is how Beanie really is. That footage was not shot by the director so we know that it is not influenced by his ideas; it is from the real authentic point of view of the character. All in all I enjoyed Mule Skinner Blues - I feel that it has the potential to change the documentary film genre because of the way it used elements of fiction filmmaking.

I stumbled across this movie while channel surfing late one night last week on one of the Sundance Channels. I was taken with the hope, as misplaced as it seems to be, demonstrated by the residents of the trailer park. All of them seem to believe that they are only one short step shy of being discovered as talented writers, musicians and/or actors. What is wrong with that? They all may be delusional to think that they are really talented enough to make it as professional entertainers, but that kind of dream seems to keep them going. More power to them. Drugs and alcohol may blur their dreams, but allow them to keep pretending as well. On the other hand, if you really believe it, are you pretending? I know a lot of people not unlike these folks. Here in Southern Appalachia, there are plenty of characters who need to believe that they will rise above the grinding poverty of their lives and become rich, famous or celebrated for their art. These are real people, existing on the underbelly of society, one short step away from abject poverty. Yet they continue to believe that something really good will happen to them in the long run. It may be sad, but it is also touching. This movie made me feel something for the subjects of the documentary. We are surrounded by these characters. Just look around sometime.

I saw this movie at cinemavillage in New York and this is a great film about never giving up on your dreams and trying to put your personal mark on life. The characters in the film are at first funny and you laugh about the way they talk about becoming entertainers while they are surely not the most brilliant talents that ever lived.

But then their drive to keep going, even when the odds are against them captured me. That sure touched me as a struggling filmmaker who is also not that talented, but I know that if I keep trying maybe I will get some recognition. The film is also a very on-documentary kind of film because it uses all kinds of feature film elements like stylized interviews and dream sequences. The filmmakers clearly wanted to escape from the old fashioned institute that makes most docs so boring that you can't manipulate any thing in "reality". That's bull**** ofcourse because the minute you turn on a camera and decide to point it in a certain direction you are manipulating.