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If David Lynch and Peter Bogdanovich sat down and decided over dinner to co-create a black comedy, it would turn out to be something like AALTRA. While Lynch would contribute his brand of character-driven stories like THE STRAIGHT STORY, Bogdanovich would be the guy for the more physical comedy and panoramic black and white vistas associated with films like PAPER MOON and THE LAST PICTURE SHOW.
But this isn’t Lynch and Bogdanovich. This is the work of two veteran Belgian comedians who have started off their film career with a darkly humorous nod to humanity. AALTRA is the story of two warring neighbors whom suddenly, thanks to poorly built farm equipment, find themselves crippled for life. With no fanfare whatsoever, wheel-chair bound, penniless and about as bitter as two human beings can possibly be, the men set out on a road-trip to locate and raise hell with the company that manufactured the unsafe tractor in the first place.
This is unlike any ‘road trip’ movie I have ever seen. While American writers and filmmakers would certainly have had our two heroes in a succession of slapstick mishaps and one wild and wacky situation after another, Delepine and Kervern are much smarter writers. In the first place our two characters are not the epitome of niceness. They will do anything to get survival money and are not beneath taking advantage of good people they encounter along their journey. While we root for them to get their revenge, we also cringe at their vulgar and unpleasant behavior. And yet, thanks to a brilliantly balanced script, somehow we do care for these men; at least I did.
AALTRA achieves empathy for its characters without resorting to an ounce of sentiment, and it never loses focus; maintaining its low-brow humor all the way through to the simplistic and completely believable ending. Using a combination of talented actors in front of a camera, and unsuspecting real people caught by a hidden camera, the filmmakers who are also the co-stars, take this unlikely and painful premise and soar it to wonderful heights. AALTRA is the genuine article; a brilliantly understated and genuinely funny little masterpiece.
DVD extras include a biography, trailer, additional Film Movement trailers and the short film SOMETHING OTHER THAN OTHER.
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