Bombay Beach (documentary)
(2011) (1 hr 20 mins)
Terry
Gilliam described this film as ‘A beautiful, quirky and ultimately very moving
film about the American dream on the edge of a desert sea’. It is certainly an
unusual film and one that stays with you after you’ve seen it.
It is the debut
film from Israeli film director Alma Har’el. Her background is in music videos
and one of the most notable features of the film is the outstanding use of
music throughout. Most of the music is by Zach Condon and Bob Dylan. The three
Dylan songs included (Moonshiner, Tomorrow is a Long Time and Series of Dreams)
work especially well.
The film
follows the lives of residents of Bombay Beach, a faded resort on the edge of a
man-made lake in the middle of the Californian desert. It was a place popular
with wealthy Americans in the 1950s but is now home to just a small community
of poor people.
The film
focuses on three people: Red, a retired oil worker eking out an existence
selling cheap cigarettes; Benny, a boy with bipolar disorder who dreams of
being a fireman; and CeeJay, an aspiring American footballer who dreams of
better times for him and his family. It is a small, tight-knit community, where
people make the most of what they have.
There are
some choreographed scenes of dancing which turn out to be particularly moving –
little oases of mystery in a barren landscape. The film is beautifully shot by
Har’el and well edited to create a sense of something magical unfolding.
Rating: 9/10
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