This film had its World Premiere yesterday appropriately at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. The filmmakers take this small town of only 800 people and make it a microcosm for red state America and its relationship to President Bush. They take this town where President Bush bought a ranch just before running for President and they present it with all its folksy characters with charm, wit, and spirit. They show how the town has been changed by President Bush's arrival.
While the film could have become anti-Bush diatribe that really is not what happens. Instead, the film makers paint a portrait that is both humorous and informative. They show how this administration has changed America by showing the changes and divisions that have occurred in the President's new "home town" during his administration. The reverberations of the Iraq War (and in Crawford, the Cindy Sheehan protests) are particularly fascinating. They paint a picture for the big city folk of what life and attitudes are like in a really small rural town in a very red part of Texas. They show the diversity of viewpoints that exist even in a town like Crawford. It is a powerful human portrait.
The film was well-received by the crowd in Austin. This is a film that deserves a wider audience, because there are many Americans who rarely experience a place like Crawford, TX.
