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Saturday 11/17/07

Midnight The Movie Channel
Bobby G Can't Swim (1999 USA): A small time coke-dealer tries to break into the big leagues in this predictable but satisfying indie drama from first time filmmaker John-Luke Montias (who also wrote the screenplay). Set in New York's pre-gentrification Hells Kitchen, the film depicts the day to day grind of Bobby Grace (Montias again), who tries to make ends meet flogging twenty dollar bags of snow whilst girlfriend Lucy chips in the proceeds from her gig as a prostitute. When Bobby meets some yuppie scum hoping to make a big score, he decides to risk everything and gets deep into debt with drug kingpin Astro (Steve Heinze)—but things turn sour when his clients develop cold feet, and he finds himself backed into a very unpleasant corner indeed. The winner of several awards on the festival circuit, Bobby G. Can't Swim is clumsily written, but executed with energy and enthusiasm, rendering it a worthwhile addition to the cinema of drug-addled despair.

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Kes (1970 GB): Last time I recommended Kes, it was airing on Trio, a long since defunct cable channel that occasionally dug up some really worthwhile rarities. Unfortunately, Trio also aired commercials and edited salty language from their programming, rendering Kes a distinctly frustrating affair for anyone tuning in at the time. Now, thanks to TCM, the film returns to American television uninterrupted, in its correct aspect ratio, and no longer shorn of naughty verbiage. Directed by Ken Loach, this tale of a boy and his bird on the Yorkshire Dales has long been one of the most beloved of British films, with fan votes consistently placing it near or at the top of best of British lists. Barnsley boy David Bradley stars as a youngster whose troubles at school and at home begin to fade into the background after he befriends a wild kestrel. If you think the setup sounds like a recipe for syrup and tears, you're only partly right, as the masterful Loach made an easy transition from the BBC kitchen-sink dramas on which he cut his teeth (e.g., the still discomfiting Cathy Come Home), bringing to the big screen his unique blend of social realism, humor, and working-class warmth. Featuring gorgeous photography by future director Chris Menges, this is a wonderful film that will appeal to those who enjoyed the similarly-themed Ring of Bright Water (1969 GB).

7:30 PM Encore Westerns
The Dalton Girls (1957 USA): A distaff take on the wild west outlaw sub-genre, The Dalton Girls is not terribly memorable cinematically, but quite interesting from a gender studies perspective. The film stars Merry Anders (The Hypnotic Eye), Lisa Davis (Queen of Outer Space), Penny Edwards, and Sue George as four female relatives of the notorious Dalton gang, who have all come to a sticky end and are no longer around to protect their womenfolk. When one of the girls kills a man after he tries to take advantage of her, she's accused of murder, and her sisters show their support by taking up where their male siblings left off (apparently women couldn't use justifiable homicide as a defense in the 19th century). The Dalton Girls is basically a 1950s juvenile delinquency story shoehorned into a ‘B' western setting, and your enjoyment of the film will depend primarily upon your tolerance for the former style—but it's a darn sight better Bad Girls, its 1994 knock-off.

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