Buck Alamo - A Phantasmagorical Ballad [Oldenburg Film Festival Review]
I'm not sure I know how to write about Buck Alamo - A Phantasmagorical Ballad. That's a compliment. The film is so unusual and layered that reviewing it after only one screening – without the chance to fully absorb every little nuance – feels inadequate. I'll turn to the official press kit, which describes it as “a slice of life film told like a ballad; with real people and situations, meandering in and out with metaphors, imagery, music, and colorful realities.” Don't you just love the sound of that? Buck Alamo is like no other movie I've seen, and that made it a pleasure to watch. The picture just had its World Premiere at the Oldenburg Film Festival.
Sonny Carl Davis plays Eli Cody, a singing cowboy who goes by the professional name of Buck Alamo. He's just been informed by his doctor that his days are numbered. Facing death – or Death, voiced here by Bruce Dern in narration – he decides to make amends with people he wronged in the past. Eli, it turns out, was an irresponsible drunk, among other things. In an effort to find forgiveness, he visits his two daughters. Dee (Lee Eddy) has no interest in accepting an apology. Caroline (Boyhood's Lorelei Linklater) is a bit more accepting, although she has a boyfriend who's a little bit too much like her old man. An estranged friend is also on the must-visit list.
Music factors into Buck Alamo continually. Several characters sing ballads during the course of the story, and each song is meaningfully interwoven into the plot. Sections are also broken up into “stanzas,” with a quote appearing onscreen before each one, to help point us in the right direction thematically. Tonally, the film is sometimes raw and gritty, at others dreamlike and atmospheric. The cinematography switches from black-and-white to color at strategic moments. All of these stylistic things could come off as needlessly showy, except that director Ben Epstein infuses the film with so much passion that they instead serve to create an ambiance that sucks you in. They immerse you into Eli's world.
Davis is remarkable in the lead role. He creates one of those colorful characters that Austin, Texas (where the movie takes place) is said to be filled with. Through him, we feel this guy's remorse, and also the intense love for music that continues to drive him. I wouldn't dream of giving away what happens, but Buck Alamo presents us with a protagonist we want to spend eighty minutes with. He's flawed in deeply intriguing ways. Following his journey is consequently an emotional, touching experience.
Buck Alamo is unrated, but contains adult language, drug content, and some violence. The running time is 1 hour and 20 minutes.
