The Basket (1999)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Rich Cowan

Writers:

Don Caron (screenplay) &
Rich Cowan (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

5 May 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A picturesque Pacific Northwest community raising its wheat and children in the midst of a nation reeling...

Plot Keywords:

Period Piece | Independent Film

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Peter Coyote	...	Martin Conlon
Karen Allen	...	Bessie Emery
Robert Burke	...	Helmut Brink
Amber Willenborg	...	Brigitta Brink
Jock MacDonald	...	Nicholas Emery
Eric Dane	...	Tom Emery
Brian Skala	...	Nathan Emery
Casey Cowan	...	Samuel Emery
Tony Lincoln	...	Reverend Simms
Patrick Treadway	...	Frederick Treadway
Ellen Travolta	...	Agnes
Jack Bannon	...	Marcus
Elwon Bakly	...	Ben Emery
Joey Travolta	...	Charlie Cohn
Paul Hostetler	...	Old Helmut Brink

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild violence and brief language.

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color | Color (Alphacine)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

USA:PG | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Garfield, Washington, USA

Company:

North by Northwest Entertainment

Trivia:

Spokane basketball player #2 is Scott McQuilken, actual Athletic Director at Whitworth College. McQuilken later made his stage debut as Egeus in the school's fall 2003 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When we see the envelope Mr. Conlon is mailing, it shows the 2-letter state abbreviations for Washington and Massachusetts. These weren't adopted until 1963, when zip codes were introduced. More likely, the abbreviations would have been Wash. and Mass.

Quotes:

[Tom tries to justify his going to war after his brother Ben dies of battle injuries]
Tom Emery: Ben told me all about the war.
Brigitta: And where is Ben now?

Soundtrack:

The Basket Soundtrack

Excellent!

The Basket is one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. It was not only beautifully filmed, but the story was as deep as you looked. It didn't need fancy special effects or thrills - just solid film making at it's best.

I actually stumbled on this film. My wife and I heard about this movie via word of mouth that it was a must see. Two weeks later by some stroke of luck it was playing at our local theater. When the movie ended I couldn't help to think what happened with the distribution of this movie. It deserves much more screen time and exposure than it has received. If I hadn't heard about this movie from a friend, I may never have seen it. It was Fantastic!

This sleeper deserves to be seen, I enjoyed it as much as "Life is Beautiful" that got so much aclaim.

My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed this film and strongly recommend it.