Latest news with #Tabatha
a day ago
- Entertainment
Movie Review: A lyrical ode to the real cowgirls of the new West in ‘East of Wall'
Filmmaker Kate Beecroft points her lens toward the real cowgirls of the Badlands in the lyrical new film 'East of Wall.' The film blends fact and fiction to tell a story about the working women of South Dakota, skilled riders and trainers with ranching and rodeo in their blood who also can't seem to catch a break. There are a few Hollywood actors in the mix, including Jennifer Ehle as a hard living grandmother with a lifetime of regrets as well as some nuggets of wisdom and Scoot McNairy as an out-of-towner who wants to acquire the land, but most of the cast are non-actors playing themselves. The film won an audience award earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. At the heart of 'East of Wall,' now playing in select theaters, is Tabatha Zimiga, a South Dakota native whose ability to tame wild horses is the stuff of legend in the area. In the film, the horses she rescues and rehabilitates are sold at auctions and often accepted for far less than what they're worth. She needs the money. There are bills to pay on the ranch and many mouths to feed (not just her own kids, but others from around the town who come to her for safety and shelter when their own caretakers stop providing). Tabatha is also living with new and old traumas, from the generational agony of abuse to the more recent death of her husband, the shocking circumstances of which are withheld for some time. But the effects of the loss are still felt, especially for their daughter Porshia (played by her real-life daughter Porshia Zimiga), whose grief is threatening to turn into hate of her mother. Teenage Porshia provides the poetic voiceovers, in which she talks about riding, her mother and, most effectively, the land. It's reminiscent of Linda Manz's narration in 'Days of Heaven.' 'East of Wall' is best when it's capturing the landscapes and the girls in action, riding and filming energetic TikToks of their friends racing cars on horseback. Some have suggested that 'East of Wall' might have been stronger as a documentary. These women are vibrant and authentic and don't look like anyone we see in the movies these days, with real bodies and imperfect skin, heads half-shaved, tattoos everywhere and the ability to really, really ride — no stunt team required. And they have stories to tell, many of them unhappy, as we see in one of the most moving non-action scenes involving a group of mothers speaking candidly about their lives and their regrets. The real-life drama of financial instability is compelling and likely rooted in truth; however, the introduction of McNairy's suspect Texan feels like a narrative contrivance and drama for drama's sake. He offers to buy the ranch and let them live and work as usual, just for him now instead of themselves. These are the kind of scenes that remind you that the filmmakers, despite all their best intentions and care, are, in essence, also interlopers in this world. Beecroft's story of how she stumbled upon Tabatha and her cowgirls sounds like something out of a folk song. A native of Los Angeles who'd worked as an actress and production designer, Beecroft felt stalled and hopped in a truck with her friend and cinematographer Austin Shelton to find the stories of everyday Americans. A wrong turn, she said, led her to these women. 'East of Wall' is a promising start for a burgeoning filmmaker and a worthy portrait of an insular world that many of us will never know. 'East of Wall,' a Sony Pictures Classics release now in select theaters, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for 'language throughout.' Running time: 97 minutes. Three stars out of four.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Movie Review: A lyrical ode to the real cowgirls of the new West in ‘East of Wall'
Filmmaker Kate Beecroft points her lens toward the real cowgirls of the Badlands in the lyrical new film 'East of Wall.' The film blends fact and fiction to tell a story about the working women of South Dakota, skilled riders and trainers with ranching and rodeo in their blood who also can't seem to catch a break. There are a few Hollywood actors in the mix, including Jennifer Ehle as a hard living grandmother with a lifetime of regrets as well as some nuggets of wisdom and Scoot McNairy as an out-of-towner who wants to acquire the land, but most of the cast are non-actors playing themselves. The film won an audience award earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. At the heart of 'East of Wall,' now playing in select theaters, is Tabatha Zimiga, a South Dakota native whose ability to tame wild horses is the stuff of legend in the area. In the film, the horses she rescues and rehabilitates are sold at auctions and often accepted for far less than what they're worth. She needs the money. There are bills to pay on the ranch and many mouths to feed (not just her own kids, but others from around the town who come to her for safety and shelter when their own caretakers stop providing). Tabatha is also living with new and old traumas, from the generational agony of abuse to the more recent death of her husband, the shocking circumstances of which are withheld for some time. But the effects of the loss are still felt, especially for their daughter Porshia (played by her real-life daughter Porshia Zimiga), whose grief is threatening to turn into hate of her mother. Teenage Porshia provides the poetic voiceovers, in which she talks about riding, her mother and, most effectively, the land. It's reminiscent of Linda Manz's narration in 'Days of Heaven.' 'East of Wall' is best when it's capturing the landscapes and the girls in action, riding and filming energetic TikToks of their friends racing cars on horseback. Some have suggested that 'East of Wall' might have been stronger as a documentary. These women are vibrant and authentic and don't look like anyone we see in the movies these days, with real bodies and imperfect skin, heads half-shaved, tattoos everywhere and the ability to really, really ride — no stunt team required. And they have stories to tell, many of them unhappy, as we see in one of the most moving non-action scenes involving a group of mothers speaking candidly about their lives and their regrets. The real-life drama of financial instability is compelling and likely rooted in truth; however, the introduction of McNairy's suspect Texan feels like a narrative contrivance and drama for drama's sake. He offers to buy the ranch and let them live and work as usual, just for him now instead of themselves. These are the kind of scenes that remind you that the filmmakers, despite all their best intentions and care, are, in essence, also interlopers in this world. Beecroft's story of how she stumbled upon Tabatha and her cowgirls sounds like something out of a folk song. A native of Los Angeles who'd worked as an actress and production designer, Beecroft felt stalled and hopped in a truck with her friend and cinematographer Austin Shelton to find the stories of everyday Americans. A wrong turn, she said, led her to these women. 'East of Wall' is a promising start for a burgeoning filmmaker and a worthy portrait of an insular world that many of us will never know. 'East of Wall,' a Sony Pictures Classics release now in select theaters, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for 'language throughout.' Running time: 97 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Movie Review: A lyrical ode to the real cowgirls of the new West in ‘East of Wall'
Filmmaker Kate Beecroft points her lens toward the real cowgirls of the Badlands in the lyrical new film 'East of Wall.' The film blends fact and fiction to tell a story about the working women of South Dakota, skilled riders and trainers with ranching and rodeo in their blood who also can't seem to catch a break. There are a few Hollywood actors in the mix, including Jennifer Ehle as a hard living grandmother with a lifetime of regrets as well as some nuggets of wisdom and Scoot McNairy as an out-of-towner who wants to acquire the land, but most of the cast are non-actors playing themselves. The film won an audience award earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. At the heart of 'East of Wall,' now playing in select theaters, is Tabatha Zimiga, a South Dakota native whose ability to tame wild horses is the stuff of legend in the area. In the film, the horses she rescues and rehabilitates are sold at auctions and often accepted for far less than what they're worth. She needs the money. There are bills to pay on the ranch and many mouths to feed (not just her own kids, but others from around the town who come to her for safety and shelter when their own caretakers stop providing). Tabatha is also living with new and old traumas, from the generational agony of abuse to the more recent death of her husband, the shocking circumstances of which are withheld for some time. But the effects of the loss are still felt, especially for their daughter Porshia (played by her real-life daughter Porshia Zimiga), whose grief is threatening to turn into hate of her mother. Teenage Porshia provides the poetic voiceovers, in which she talks about riding, her mother and, most effectively, the land. It's reminiscent of Linda Manz's narration in 'Days of Heaven.' 'East of Wall' is best when it's capturing the landscapes and the girls in action, riding and filming energetic TikToks of their friends racing cars on horseback. Some have suggested that 'East of Wall' might have been stronger as a documentary. These women are vibrant and authentic and don't look like anyone we see in the movies these days, with real bodies and imperfect skin, heads half-shaved, tattoos everywhere and the ability to really, really ride — no stunt team required. And they have stories to tell, many of them unhappy, as we see in one of the most moving non-action scenes involving a group of mothers speaking candidly about their lives and their regrets. The real-life drama of financial instability is compelling and likely rooted in truth; however, the introduction of McNairy's suspect Texan feels like a narrative contrivance and drama for drama's sake. He offers to buy the ranch and let them live and work as usual, just for him now instead of themselves. These are the kind of scenes that remind you that the filmmakers, despite all their best intentions and care, are, in essence, also interlopers in this world. Beecroft's story of how she stumbled upon Tabatha and her cowgirls sounds like something out of a folk song. A native of Los Angeles who'd worked as an actress and production designer, Beecroft felt stalled and hopped in a truck with her friend and cinematographer Austin Shelton to find the stories of everyday Americans. A wrong turn, she said, led her to these women. 'East of Wall' is a promising start for a burgeoning filmmaker and a worthy portrait of an insular world that many of us will never know. 'East of Wall,' a Sony Pictures Classics release now in select theaters, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America for 'language throughout.' Running time: 97 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Woman-centered western ‘East of Wall' saddles up a sensitive docu-fiction hybrid
Any western worth its dusty boots and big-sky openness should know what's breathtaking about freedom, at the same time grasping how being tamed is an uneasy, clarifying rite of passage. That men have typically led these stories means there's a lot still to be mined when women tackle this genre — both in front of and behind the camera — and in 'East of Wall,' about a struggling ranch matriarch (Tabatha Zimiga) with a headstrong daughter (Porshia Zimiga), writer-director Kate Beecroft has found a worthy modern story of cowgirl hardiness near South Dakota's Badlands. That air of independence and restriction applies also to what 'East of Wall' itself is: a narrative centered on first-time actors playing versions of themselves in a story shaped from their lives, in this case the joys and sorrows of the Zimigas' open-plains existence rescuing, riding and selling horses, and dealing with financial uncertainty after the loss of a loved one. When Chloé Zhao took the docu-fiction approach with her melancholy 2017 neo-western 'The Rider,' the blended realism and dramatic choreography achieved something heartbreaking, reawakening the hybrid's possibilities. Beecroft's solid-enough first feature isn't as effortlessly transcendent — the seams show a bit more. But there's plenty of lived-in warmth in its accumulation of details and it gives needed voice to the concerns of women forging their own way in an environment that isn't exactly kind on anyone. Very quickly, we're swept up in what's loose, chaotic and appealing about tough, tattooed horse whisperer Tabatha and her rough-and-tumble operation, which includes her own children — Porshia is already a rising rodeo star — and various teenagers from this strapped region's broken homes, plus her hard-bitten mom (Jennifer Ehle), who enjoys her peach moonshine. There's an unruly found-family charm that belies what's isolating and rundown about their situation and Austin Shelton's vista-friendly cinematography does a good job contrasting that beauty and severity, especially in Tabatha herself, an earthy, battle-hardened goddess with a head half-shaved and half-draped with golden hair, and kind eyes rimmed with mascara. She always looks ready to calm a bronc, knock back a beer or tell you off. Tabatha's reputation for breaking wild steeds and supporting wayward kids is legion and her sales methods lean toward the unconventional: TikTok videos that frame horses at full speed against ravishing backdrops, and at barn sales, showcases that spotlight her girls' performing skills. Money is tight, though, and the sting of her husband's suicide a year earlier has put a grief wedge between Tabatha and Porshia as each tries to imagine what the future holds. That's when an observant, dogged Texas rancher with his own baggage (Scoot McNairy) shows up with a tempting lifeline that puts everyone's ownership of their fate in stark relief. 'East of Wall' lives in that indie space of wanting to respect and vibe equally, which means there's a little too much slo-mo montage and, considering how invested we are in this family, not enough memorable scene work. But even with the thinnest of narrative framing and some arty touches that feel superfluous, there's an overall portrait of authentic grit and resilience here, of knowing when to hold on and when to let go, that is well-nurtured by Beecroft's admiring eye for these renegade women. Nothing against McNairy and Ehle who play well with the first-timers, but there are moments when you wonder if Beecroft should have straight-up made a documentary, foregoing the harnessing of scripted incident for the rawness of what drew her to these people and this world in the first place. Which is another way of saying mother and daughter Zimiga are real finds, true-to-themselves keepers of a heartland tradition, and fresh faces getting to tell that story in a nontraditional form.
National Observer
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- National Observer
MOVIES: A US-Canada hybrid and three gems with horse handlers, a tragic pop star and unusual education
It's getting to be festival time again. VIFF in Vancouver is soon to announce its schedule for this year. TIFF in Toronto has been releasing bits of it for some time and this week revealed it all. There are almost 300 features including new work by Sarah Polley, Richard Linklater, Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein) and get this, Jude Law as Vladimir Putin in The Wizard of the Kremlin. Baz Luhrman has a follow to his huge hit Elvis with 'EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert' made up of concert clips, rare film and memories. TIFF will open with a documentary on John Candy and close with Peak Everything a Canadian black comedy that played well at Cannes. TIFF has also stirred up and then backed off its first controversy. It canceled a film about events after the Hamas attack on Israel. Reason given: copyright issues over some footage belonging to Hamas. Security and expected protest seem more likely. 'Censorship' was alleged. TIFF worked out whatever the problems were and yesterday re-invited the film. It is by Canadian director, Barry Avrich. The new movies this week are mostly "in select cinemas" or not previewed here (Nobody 2) but do include three well worth going to see and a caustic view of America. East of Wall: 4 stars It's Never Over Jeff Buckley: 3 ½ Folktales: 3 ½ Americana: 2 ½ EAST OF WALL: Looking for a truly unique film? Try this. It's just as moving as the last film I praised with those words, The Rider, back seven years ago. And it is similar in several ways. Also set in South Dakota, on a horse ranch and feeling almost like a documentary. It's that real. Only slightly fictionalized, the events really happened to the people we see in the film. Writer-director Kate Beecroft found them when she went looking for stories that don't just repeat other movies. She got to know Tabatha Zimiga and her daughter Porshia Zimiga on a ranch near the town of Wall and got them to, in effect, play themselves in the movie, along with other non-professionals plus a couple of actors, Scoot McNairy and Jennifer Ehle, in key secondary roles). Tabatha, with multiple tattoos and half her head shaven, is rebellious and tenacious. She's an ace horse handler. She can tell when the animal has had the bridle on too long ('she can diagnose a horse in two minutes') and how to assure a buyer that it won't kick. She sells horses on Tik Tok (a modern touch) and tutors riders at auctions to put on a show to stir the bidders. She has also taken in stray youths to live on her ranch and is struggling to keep it going while keeping them in line. McNairy arrives as a potential buyer (with a few strings attached to his offer) and Tabatha has to decide on it. And keep some tragic memories under control. It's a powerful story of resilience. And, real. (In theaters) 4 out of 5 IT'S NEVER OVER: JEFF BUCKLEY: I'm glad to finally learn about him through this documentary. I've seen references to him many times and read that his version of Leonard Cohen's song Hallelujah is the key interpretation. It was a big hit in Europe, not that much in North America and that may explain my lack of familiarity. Now I know that David Bowie said his one album is the best that he had ever heard and that another industry type called him 'one of the greatest singers of all time.' You get a lot of performances in this film to decide yourself. They are very emotional and with his huge vocal range, powerful. And you get his story. He had a bit of an imposter syndrome possibly because he was distant from, and felt rejected by his father, the singer Tim Buckley. He wasn't even mentioned in his dad's obituary. He was raised by his single mother. She's in the film talking about him as well as two women who had romantic relationship with, former band members and musical stars Ben Harper and Aimee Mann. She described his voice as having 'a boundary-less, liquid quality.' We learn he was influenced by artists from many genres: Nina Simone, Judy Garland, Edith Piaf, Pakistani singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Led Zeppelin. And that constant touring after his album became a hit wore him out. A chance to rest, though, led to tragedy, an early death (drowning) at age 30. Director Amy Berg gets across a strong sense of loss over what his career might have been. The film was a favorite at Sundance. (in theaters) 3½ out of 5 FOLKTALES: Right now, as many go to summer camps, this film is particularly apropos. It gets across the feeling of camaraderie, of learning, of exploration and growth. A bit effusive, yeah, but that was part of my reaction to this documentary about an educational tradition in Norway. Students are allowed time off from school to attend a camp north of the Arctic circle where they train sled dogs and ride the deep snow trails to show what they've achieved. Doesn't sound like a normal education but comments are made like 'a dog can unlock something inside a person'. The principal welcomes the students with the message to 'try to find a new version of yourself.' One student says he was bored by school and needed something different. Another talked about overcoming anxiety. The whole program is designed for students seeking independence and we see them develop from wary and even aloof to spontaneous and accomplished. They bond with the dogs and the other campers. They trade their stories (one says he's 'nice' but 'annoying') and in their vision of the future even the pessimists see things getting better. One narrates the film with the story of the god Odin and the three fates 'that weave our destinies out of yarn.' It gives a fable quality to this film about young people testing themselves and learning from handling the dogs. 'Take chances.' 'Chase a better version of yourself.' That's the optimism and message in this film by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady who have been Oscar nominated for previous work. (Theaters in Toronto, Victoria, Vancouver, now; and London, Ottawa, Toronto again soon) 3 ½ out of 5 AMERICANA: There are good intentions and good ideas in this film but I don't think they're particularly well-presented. They look at the American west with a critical eye, trashing the old myths and arguing that they haven't survived at all in today's west. Good to consider alright, especially the clear-eyed view the film has of how the native tribes were treated back then. It even mentions the word genocide and shows a definite second-class attitude among the whites towards them even today. But most of those whites in here are so low-class it's not clear whether we should be seeing this as a comedy and how serious the film is meant to be. And, of course, the guns are quick to come out and shoot at anything. And by anybody. Of course that might be a comment on modern America too, made by the writer-director Tony Tost. He's got an intellectual background, which may explain why his script mentions Franz Fanon and Karl Marx and the religion created by the Lakota Indians. In the film robbers steal a valuable Lakota relic, called the ghost shirt, from a collector to sell for big money. Before the leader can get it sold he's bashed on the head by his angry girlfriend (played by the singer Halsey) and dies. Then various people are after it, including a band of indigenous activists who cite the American Indian Movement and The Black Panthers as inspiration, the collectibles dealer (Simon Rex) and his violent employee (Eric Dane) and a boy who says he's the reincarnation of Chief Sitting Bull. From the Also a chubby lovelorn guy played by Paul Walter Hauser and the waitress/country-singer-wanna-be that he teams up with (Sydney Sweeney, you know the woman in the ad with great jeans). Crowded cast; it thins out when the shooting starts leaving me to wonder about better ways to present such a thesis about modern America. This one is engrossing but awfully scattered. Made in the USA but produced by Bron Studios of Burnaby. B.C. (In theaters) 2 ½ out of 5
