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Reviews
Purgatory House (2004)
Poorly delivered lines and unintentional ambient noise prevent Purgatory House from being too heavenly or too hellish.
Purgatory House looks the kind of typical film that shows a "very unique" view of life, death, religion, and love, but it actually does! And though it is burdened by poorly delivered lines and unintentional ambient noise, a few well-constructed elements really pull it all together into a surprisingly pleasant film.
Silver Strand is a young teen who overdoses and dies, and since she has committed suicide, she's stuck in purgatory for all eternity. She is trapped there forever with other teens who "expressed themselves with drugs, alcohol, self mutilation, sex, suicide." There are no lessons to be learned there, no great acts to do, It's almost like a psychiatric hospital mixed with a group-home.
The story jumps back and forth to show clips of Silver's life on earth and her death in purgatory. She talks with the other teenagers there and they all share their views of God, religion, and their individual destinies.
Purgatory House takes a confusing concept and brings it to life, mixing a serious tone with a few laughs. For example, Silver waked up while in purgatory and the first words she mumble are, "Why did I set my alarm clock for 5 AM when I was alive?" Much to the viewer's dismay, other lines throughout the film are said with either too much acting behind them or too little. Some of the actors seem completely invested in the film, while others put on performances overshadowed by even Disney Channel Original Movies.
Some of the actors are experienced, but most are working on their first big project, so there are high in hopes and low in talents. Only two of the actors have worked on other produced features before: Jim Hanks (Baby Geniuses... and we all know how amazing that was), and Johnny Pacar (Now You See It..., Flight 29 Down) 14-year-old Celeste Davis wrote this screenplay and appears to be the youngest screenwriter with his or her own produced film. She was in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program when she met Cindy Baer who directed and produced the film for her.
Though created by amateurs, the film has a very complete feel. Different techniques with the camera, editing, and computer graphics bring a sense of experimentation to the film that most films are too afraid to do.
The music in Purgatory House is probably the best I've heard in a movie in a long while. Each song that is played correlates with the scene it's played in and makes a nice atmosphere. Many of the musicians gave the rights to use their music free of charge because they fell in love with the story behind the movie.
The film-makers try to keep it silent at times, but it doesn't work 99% of the times they try it. If they had invested in a wind-sock, maybe the film would have a less home-made vibe to it.
Movies like these are hard to come by. On the one hand, they're very good and you want to show them to all your friends. They have a certain wit and style that you really don't find elsewhere. They have a unique way of looking at some important topics and presenting them in an interesting and engaging way.
On the other hand, movies like this suck because it wasn't funded very well. If the budget had been higher for this movie, the end result would have looked and sounded a little more polished and purposeful. There were some instances when the viewer had to wonder if the camcorder was really for "effect", or if it was just the only camera they had at hand (pun intended). The film-makers could have also hired some skilled actors, instead of just friends, so that the script got its money's worth. The writing is very good in it, it only deserves a good cast.
The experimentation, music, message, and camera techniques are all so good in Purgatory House. It's just a shame that some of the details were sketchy.
Cowboy del Amor (2005)
Cowboy Del Amor Stumbles on Proposal
One should not make a scene about watching Cowboy Del Amor because it's really not that wonderful of a film worth making a scene about. It is a non-thrilling, time-killing, space-filling documentary that leaves the viewer no better, no worse, and an hour and a half older.
Michele Ohayon tries to offer unto the world a wonderful non-fiction piece about an old cowboy matchmaker who hitches American men with Mexican women. Instead, Ohayon spews forth this remarkably drab flick. And please understand, I use "flick" for "film" as I use "bitch" for "woman." "I was married to an American woman seventeen and a half years; she spoke perfect English and I never could understand her." These are the opening lines spoken by the "Cowboy Cupid" himself, Ivan Thompson. Part-time cowboy, full-time matchmaker, Ivan is so used to looking for women, he can't seem to keep one.
Cowboy Del Amor is a documentary following Ivan through the process he uses to "hitch up" lonely American men with unhappy Mexican women. It starts with taking a gringo down to Mexico and placing an ad in a local paper, then interviewing Mexican women until he finds one he likes. Simple as that.
Rick is the youngest of the fellows, in his late 30's or early 40's. He pays Ivan $3,000 to take him down to Torreon, Mexico to find a wife. After a few days of interviews, the hard work pays off and Rick meets Francis, a lovely Mexican woman who fits his ideal physical requirements: short and slender. They go on a few dates and end up falling for each other.
Lee is an older gentleman, entering his late 70's. The reason he wants to get married so late in his life? He doesn't want to die in his sleep and stay there for days without anybody knowing. He has no family, and wants someone to be there for him in these fading days. Irmalinda is a good woman, who just can't seem to find a good husband who appreciates her. She, like the other women, says that in America, women are treated equal unlike in Mexico, where the men use the women to their own advantage.
During the middle of the film, the pace drops from slow to a deadening crawl. The gringos' stories are put on hold while Ivan's story is elaborated a bit. Ivan talks about his ex-wife, Chayo, and how they met, married and divorced. Whether a conscious effort or not, the filmmaker decides to deviate from the somewhat interesting part of the movie to learn about why Ivan does what he does. The viewer doesn't really care, but Ivan's tale goes on. Finally, the plot picks up again at the very end with two weddings.
Ultimately, due to financial problems, Ivan moves out of his little home in the states and take his business to Mexico. After this the film, like Ivan, just kind of fades away. Though he is a decent man, the viewer isn't really disappointed to see him go with the closing credits.
With music that sounds like it's taken straight from a Sergio Leone film, cinematography that is nothing specially worth noting, and characters that are likable if not memorable, Michele Ohayon's Cowboy Del Amor is frayed and incomplete, with an ending that leaves the viewer unfulfilled. Neither good nor bad, it is trapped in the proverbial "cinematic limbo."