A year spent with choreographer Allison Orr as she rides out with and tries to persuade employees of the Austin Dept. of Solid Waste Services to collaborate in a public dance performance. The performance eventually takes place, in the rain, on the tarmac of an abandoned airport, with over two thousand people watching--16 trucks, 24 people-- and sweeps local art and performance awards.
Reviews
Waste of time
Fantastic!
Absolutely amazing
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
if you haven't watched this, I would recommend it. Just watched on PBS. I didn't think much about it but after about 10 minutes I knew I wanted to see it to the end. Allison Orr immersed herself into the world of the trash men and women. She got to know them as individual people. She listened to them. Really listened. And taking what she learned, she created a magical moment using the tools of their trade. This piece pulls you in and completely alters your view of the people who are seen everyday in all our lives and yet never known. The enormous trucks and a lone crane create a dance. A real dance. Allison Orr is a genius and such a real and engaged young woman, the men and women she enlisted to do this project found her impossible to dismiss. By getting to know the people, really know them, she took their fears away and brought out the best in each of them. One man was a dancer. Another a harmonica player and the crane solo (yes, I said crane- not a bird but a piece of heavy equipment) was the icing on the cake. On a rainy day in Austin, the number of people who wanted to see the performance was so large that some had to be turned away.And the musical score-perfection. Great film. And yes, I hope they do "Keep Austin Weird."
This film made its Rochester NY premiere at the Dryden Theater of the George Eastman House last Friday evening. It was the first film shown in an annual Labor Series at the House that occurs over several weeks in the Fall and the showing was well attended. The audience response was enthusiastic judging from spontaneous clapping at the end. Personally, my husband and I thought it was one of the best documentaries we have ever seen and our other "picks" provide stiff competition for this designation. We thought the movie was brilliant from concept through editing. It challenged stereotypes by bringing the trash collectors and others such as the choreographer who participated to life in their fuller humanity, as well as creativity and commitment to a pretty "crazy" project. It told an amazing and true story in a thoroughly engaging way; it was fun and provocative at the same time. There are so many people we want to see this film when it becomes more generally accessible. Definitely needs to be on your "watch" list....
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