Border Radio (1987)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Directors:

Allison Anders
Dean Lent
(more)

Writers:

Allison Anders (writer)
Dean Lent (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

November 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Jeff Bailey. His wife wants him back. His band wants him on stage. Some thugs want his head. ...He wants another beer.

Plot:

Three musicians take money that is owed to them from a job and flee to Mexico. |

Plot Keywords:

Musician | Cult Favorite | Band | Directorial Debut | Roadie

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Chris D.	...	Jeff Bailey
Chris Shearer	...	Chris
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dave Alvin	...	Dave
Devon Anders	...	Devon
Luanna Anders	...	Lu
Iris Berry	...	Scenester
Julie Christensen	...	Door girl
John Doe	...	Dean
Eddie Flowers	...	Thug
Texacala Jones	...	Babysitter
Chuck Shepard	...	Expatriate
Sebastian Sopeland	...	Thug
Craig Stark	...	Thug

Directed by
Allison Anders
Dean Lent
Kurt Voss

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Allison Anders		writer
Dean Lent		writer
Kurt Voss		writer

Produced by
Marcus DeLeon	....	producer
Robert Rosen	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Dave Alvin

Cinematography by
Dean Lent

Sound Department
Nietzchka Keene	....	sound

Production Companies

• Coyote Productions

Distributors

• International Film Marketing (1987) (USA) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Pacific Arts (video)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Baja California, Mexico

Company:

Coyote Productions

Trivia:

This movie was originally financed by Vic Tayback, who played Mel the cook on the TV show "Alice" (1976).

Movie Connections:

References Flesh for Frankenstein (1973)

Soundtrack:

Mother's Worry

This independent get the criterion treatment?

I've become a fan of the criterion collection over the past few years or so. I consider the institution a staple in the film industry, both in recognizing and preserving pivotal pieces throughout the years. In fact, seeing the criterion collection symbol on a DVD cover sparks my interest in films that I probably wouldn't think twice about watching otherwise. An example of this is Border Radio. I anxiously awaited a screening of this film because of its importance to indie film explosion, and I am a big supporter of indie flicks. But as I watched it, I realized that this is a very good student film. But it's too amateur and unseasoned to earn any comparison to better indie flicks and better Hollywood flicks. The film is sloppy in its structure. After establishing the characters, the film takes the shape of a documentary where these characters are interviewed, one-on-one. The idea itself isn't a bad one, but the filmmakers don't give a reason for doing so. Why are these characters are being interviewed? How does it contribute to the story? The characters themselves have absolutely no redeeming qualities and the filmmakers don't give us a way to relate to any of them. The acting is horrific, and better directors in better movies have proved that non-actors can produce good and sometimes great performances. The actors in this movie all look like film students although we know some aren't. The best performance was produced by the Mexican who sang and drank a corona for 1 short scene. The story itself is dull and cliché. If another film student makes a movie that has to do with somebody owing a club owner money, I'm going to scream. More importantly, the film has no premise! Most films have a premise without trying. This one has none, no moral of the story, or no point to the story. These things are learned in film 101. In fact, these things should come natural in any form of storytelling. The only thing that makes this film worth anybody's time is its photography and some of the music. There are some great landscape shots and a beautiful scene where the daughter is circled on a music merry-go-round. Ultimately, this film is a perfect example on how some indie flicks get much props simply because their indie flicks. How this gets the criterion treatment, I have no idea. This is simply a bad movie made my amateur filmmakers still searching for a voice. It took them 4 years to make this movie and, despite how low-budget a film is, it should never take 4 years to make an 83 minute movie with non-actors and a bad script. I do appreciate a movie with good intentions and I would assume that these USC film students had good intentions to make a non-Hollywood film about real people; but those intentions fall massively short. The ridiculously high acclaim that some indie flicks get because they're shot with shoe-string budgets with plot less stories has to stop (in the same way the acclaim some Hollywood flicks get because they have big stories and a predictable storyline has to stop).