SXSW Competition Award (Narrative Short)
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Pioneer2011
The most epic bedtime story since "1,001 Nights," David Lowery's PIONEER is both a magnificent odyssey and a powerful metaphor for the meaning of family and fatherhood. Singer/songwriter/actor Will Oldham is the blue-collar dad who, in a hushed storybook voice, recounts the story of how he met his young son's mother and became his father. It is a tale that spans centuries of violent American history, yet it is a tender, intimate film bathed in a warm pool of golden light in the dark of the night. In its way, it explores the power of stories as allegory and emotional truth. "It represents a step forward for me as a filmmaker," acknowledges Lowery, "and it's also directly personal, which is the reason I dedicated it to my dad." PIONEER premiered at Sundance 2011 and went on to win "Best Short" at SXSW. On the strength of this confident film (which Lowery sent out with his screenplay for AIN’T THEM BODIES SAINTS), Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck signed on to his second feature. - Sean Axmaker
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1 member likes this review
This one really crept up on me. Hope nobody saw me crying.
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Starring
- Myles Brooks - Boy
- Will Oldham - Dad
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Member Reviews (4)
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This one really crept up on me. Hope nobody saw me crying.
1 member likes this review
I did not finish watching this film. I was not interested in anything about this film. Though it is not boring. I just did not get it.
Very interesting
will oldham lulls us to sleep with an epic fable that in a quarter of an hour spans centuries. while a thunderstorm wakes and frightens the boy, dad comes to the rescue with a tall tale that spooks and beguiles the audience. his fireside voice articulates a vivid story that at its end left me with a sense of childlike wonder that warmed a cauldron of my own bedside memories. the final note is uplifting and pervasively identifiable.