A fever dream that tells the engagingly insane story of a Hollywood crew shooting an aggressive Western on location in an unspoiled area in Peru. A hallucinogenic film about the making of a film going off the rails. The crew − the director is played by Samuel Fuller – leave their backdrop and a new ritual behind with the indigenous population. Members of the native tribe reconstruct cameras, microphones and reflectors out of bamboo and make a film in kind with Hopper, an actor/stuntman who stayed behind, as the innocent ‘star’. The Peruvian villagers show a passion for realism, refusing to use trick photography and so almost ritually crucifying Hopper.
“I used the film as source material”, Hopper says in his introduction. “I remind you constantly that we are shooting a film. As a viewer, you become immersed in the film, believe in it, then straight away I take you out of that. A very unpleasant experience. I hope that you will enjoy the film, that I haven’t been too radical.”
Please note: this one-time online test screening on Fri 29 Jan, 20:30 is accessible to IFFR Crew & Volunteers by invitation. If you have not been invited but would like to watch, there are tickets available for purchase. But be aware that this is a test screening and the chosen film is not part of the IFFR 2021 Official Selection.
Film details
- Country of production
- USA
- Year
- 1971
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2021
- Length
- 108'
- Medium/Format
- 35mm
