Silver City (film)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Silver City
Original title Silver City
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2004
length 129 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director John Sayles
script John Sayles
production Maggie Renzi
music Mason Daring
camera Haskell Wexler
cut John Sayles
occupation

Silver City is a US-based political satire from John Sayles from the year 2004 . Danny Huston leads the acting company.

action

Richard Pilager, a politically inexperienced son of a US senator, is running for governor of Colorado , and he is doing his best. The environmental protection is one of his many campaign priorities. Unknown forces or chance hang a body of water on the hook of the extremely weak candidate while filming an election commercial on a lake while the camera is running. The film set is evacuated immediately in the strictest of secrecy. Enthusiastic young deputies draw a scruffy Flippers on land that leaves shaking his head sink again the veteran Sheriff Skaggs. The victim is a working class South American who was killed in a fall, the autopsy shows. Pilager's diabolical campaign manager Chuck Raven hires former journalist Danny O'Brien to tell three people that they are "being watched". One of them, Mitch Paine, is a former colleague of O'Brien on a political left investigative publication. The two are now on different sides of the social order. Radio host Castleton openly threatens O'Brien with a beating. Another is an elderly tour guide in a disused silver mine who used to be its boss. O'Brien's girlfriend leaves him because he always sees himself as a loser, and he has "convinced" her over time.

A political intrigue develops around the multimillion-dollar construction project Silver City , around the politically and economically influential Pilager and Benteen families, around silver mining , toxic waste and groundwater pressure.

O'Brien gets to know Maddy Pilager, the senator's daughter, a blonde Olympic archer who is under the influence of psychotropic substances , who at first does not speak well to the errand boys and the press in general, then puts the bow down and with him sleeps, and then betrays him to Raven, whom she doesn't like either. The lay private detective is kicked out of the campaign team, but is still interested in the incidents. He once had an affair with the attractive political journalist Nora Allardyce, who is with a lobbyist . In contrast to him, this one has made a career upwards. He pays a friendly, intelligent Mexican named Tony Guerra to ask around among the migrant workers. His tires will soon be punctured. In addition, when changing tires, a pair of boots turns your car into a murder tool with one courageous kick. Guerra ends up in the hospital, where the laconic-clear Sheriff Skaggs is inclined to dismiss it as a "shaving accident" .

O'Brien blackmailed friends of the victim for information by threatening the immigration authorities, whereupon he found a flooded tunnel with toxic waste in the Silver City. The Mexican died in an industrial accident under inhumane conditions during disposal . At a parade, O'Brien recognizes the boots. He confronts the killer in an alley and gets a switchblade pressed to his neck. Sheriff Skagg's young deputy shoots the boot wearer in self-defense. According to the sheriff, his deputies are slightly “over-trained” , as the latter admits , bent over the corpse. The coffin of the guest worker is picked up by the Mexican government. O'Brien revives the love affair with the journalist.

To America the Beautiful (interpreted by Joan Osborne ) and a tradition-conscious, solidarizing and humanly moving speech by Richard Pilager, around a million fish float in the lake near the building site of the Silver City with their belly up on the water.

Reviews

James Berardinelli wrote on ReelViews that the film was the director's best work since Limbo ; the complexity of the characters and the situations is similar to the movie Lone Star . Unlike in films like Erin Brockovich, an ordinary citizen does not win against the power of big business ; Sayles let the viewer not forget who holds the real power in the country. Berardinelli praised the cast, with the "relatively unknown" Danny Huston being a "good choice".

The Lexicon of International Films wrote that the film was a "mixture of drama, crime thriller and political satire" aimed at George W. Bush . The background would “remain rather blurred”, which is why “the film as a whole [...] shows more political conviction than artistic unity”. The “individual achievements” of the “enormous star line-up” were praised.

Kenneth Turan wrote in the Los Angeles Times on September 17, 2004 that the film was not remarkable although he tried to. He should have drawn the audience in more than he would. An absolutely right line-up is the "always committed" Chris Cooper as Richard Pilager. In this case, however, the rules of a crime film would appear “clumsy”, the characters would lack emotional credibility, and further: “One would like [...] almost more politics. Instead, this works peripheral to the neo-noir romance, for which Sayles is really not in top form. "

Owen Gleiberman described the film in Entertainment Weekly as follows: “Perhaps the mustiest political conspiracy that has ever been captured on film [...] the dialogue is 'intelligent', but it no longer sounds like human language [...] The politics is corrupt , the media are corrupt, real estate is corrupt, the big ones keep pounding the little ones [...] Sayles comes across as the last honest filmmaker, but then also the blandest. "

Dennis Schwartz spoke of a film that was “too close to reality” to be “effective as satire. Failing to entertain, proclaim instead. ”Andrew O'Hehir found on Salon.com ,“ Doesn't go far enough as satire. ”

Awards

John Sayles was nominated in 2004 for the Golden Shell of the Festival Internacional de Cine de Donostia-San Sebastián . The film won the 2005 Political Film Society Award for Democracy .

background

The film was shot in Denver and a few other locations in Colorado . It had its world premiere on May 13, 2004 at the Cannes International Film Festival ; on September 11, 2004 it was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival . The film grossed approximately $ 1 million in US cinemas .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Silver City . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , October 2006 (PDF; test number: 107 932 DVD).
  2. ↑ Review by James Berardinelli, accessed July 16, 2007
  3. ^ Lexicon of International Films, accessed on July 16, 2007
  4. ^ Review by Kenneth Turan, accessed November 3, 2008
  5. ^ Owen Gleiberman: Silver City (2004). In: Entertainment Weekly. September 24, 2004, accessed on November 3, 2008 (English, capitalization in the original): "may be the mustiest political-conspiracy tale ever filmed [...] his dialogue is" intelligent, "yet it no longer sounds like human speech. [...] Politics is corrupt; media is corrupt; land deals are corrupt; the big guy keeps crushing the little guy. [...] He comes on as the Last Honest Filmmaker, but by now he may also be the dullest "
  6. ↑ Dennis Schwartz: "Too close to reality to be effective as satire." In: Ozus' World Movie Reviews. April 23, 2006, accessed on November 2, 2008 : "too close to reality to be effective as satire, fails to entertain and has no power other than to speak to its chorus"
  7. ^ Andrew O'Hehir: Beyond the Multiplex. (No longer available online.) In: Salon.com . 2004, archived from the original on March 7, 2008 ; accessed on November 2, 2008 (English): “the satire doesn't go far enough” Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / dir.salon.com
  8. ^ Filming locations for Silver City, accessed July 16, 2007
  9. ^ Silver City premiere dates , accessed July 16, 2007
  10. ^ Box office / business for Silver City, accessed July 16, 2007

Web links