Themes: Political Unrest, Police Corruption, Members of the Press
Main Cast: Sarah White, Eric Johnson, Eric Johnson, Ben Keith, James Mazzeo, Paul Supplee
Release Year: 2003
Country: US/CA
Run Time: 83 minutes
Plot
The director of Greendale, Bernard Shakey is much better known as the rock icon Neil Young. Greendale is a feature-length adaptation of Young's album of the same name. Following the lives of a family in a small town, the film's actors lip sync the dialogue as it appears in the songs, which are all present in the versions heard on the CD. The story concerns Arius Green (Ben Keith), a friendly old-timer who lives on the Double-E ranch with his family. His son Earl (James Mazzeo) is a struggling painter. When cousin Jed (Eric Johnson) murders Officer Carmichael (Paul Supplee), there is a media frenzy that brings about the death of Arius. Arius' granddaughter Sun Green (Sarah White) sets off on a life of social protest. Greendale was screened at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
Review
Singer/songwriter Neil Young, in the guise of filmmaker Bernard Shakey, has referred to Greendale as a "musical novel." While the film, shot on 8 mm and grainy to the point of abstraction, has its moments -- and should please connoisseurs of lefty DIY cinema, along with Young's most ardent fans -- Greendale doesn't quite work on movie terms. "Show, don't tell" is the cardinal rule of filmmaking as a visual medium, and Greendale breaks that rule on a conceptual level, with actors lip-syncing Young's often trenchant lyrics, while we see an overly literal visual representation of same. The music tells us everything, and the lo-fi images seem superfluous. The folksy, broadly acted tale and muddy visuals come bracingly to life only in two sections. In one, Young integrates news footage of John Ashcroft and Tom Ridge into a plaintive outcry against fear mongering and the erosion of our individual rights. And in the film's jubilant environmentalist finale, "Be the Rain,"Young finally does away with his "Shakey" narrative and ends things on a joyously hopeful note. While it's seriously flawed, sometimes to the point of being hard to take, Greendale shows an audacious artist grappling with the important issues of the day in a heartfelt and boldly original way. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Cast
Sarah White - Sun Green
Eric Johnson - Devil
Ben Keith - Arius J. "Grandpa" Green
James Mazzeo - Earl; Paul Supplee - Officer Carmichael; Pegi Young; Erik Markegard; Elizabeth Keith
Credit
Eric Johnson - Art Director, James Mazzeo - Art Director, Gary Burden - Art Director, Jenice Heo - Art Director, Bernard Shakey - Director, Toshi Onuki - Editor, Elliot Rabinowitz - Executive Producer, Crazy Horse - Composer (Music Score), Neil Young - Composer (Music Score), Neil Young - Songwriter, Neil Young - Cinematographer, Neil Young - Producer, L.A. Johnson - Producer, John Hausmann - Sound/Sound Designer, Neil Young - Screenwriter
