Disappearances (2006)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Jay Craven

Writers:

Jay Craven (written by)
Howard Frank Mosher (novel)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

In a desperate attempt to save their farm, a father and son embark on a whiskey running adventure.

Plot:

Quebec Bill Bohomme is a hardy schemer and dreamer, who, desperate to raise money to preserve his endangered...

Plot Keywords:

Whiskey | Returned From The Dead | Omen | Rain Machine | Depression Of 1929

Cast

Kris Kristofferson	...	Quebec Bill Bonhomme
Charlie McDermott	...	Wild Bill Bonhomme
Gary Farmer	...	Herny Coville
William Sanderson	...	Rat Kinneson
Geneviève Bujold	...	Cordelia (as Genevieve Bujold)
Lothaire Bluteau	...	Carcajou
Heather Rae	...	Evangeline Bonhomme
Bill Raymond	...	Compton
Luis Guzmán	...	Brother St. Hilaire (as Luis Guzman)
John Griesemer	...	Brother St. Paul
Christy Scott Cashman	...	Yellow Rose
Rusty De Wees	...	Frog Lamundy (as Rusty Dewees)
Steve Small	...	Origene LaChance
Josh Pellerin	...	Andre LaChance
Munson Hicks	...	Sheriff

Runtime:

USA:118 min (Los Angeles Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Finland:K-15

Filming Locations:

Lincoln, New Hampshire, USA

Company:

Border Run Pictures

Quotes:

Sheriff: I heard there was a meeting back here. Who are you scheming with now?
Herny Coville: Calvin Coolidge come up lookin' for some decent Canadian whiskey.
Sheriff: That's the problem with you fancy-assed Indians and over-the-hill outlaws - you don't know how to show proper respect for a white man.

Not credible

A motor boat in 1930's small town lake that looks like a modern day boat? Fakest Beard award goes to Kurkajoo. A 1980's-era .50 caliber machine gun mounted on the motorboat?? A train conductor curses with "Judas Priest!" These anachronisms are not clever or inform the film really (even though the beginning Faulkner quote says that "the past is not dead; it's not even past"); the anachronisms just seem smug and facile. Quebec Bill locates a valuable stash of unguarded whiskey in a barn one night, and instead of slowly pilfering it at night under shade of darkness, he waits until morning when it's light out, stupidly assuming the gang has fallen asleep until noon, at least. Of course, one of them awakes and Quebec Bill gets them almost all killed, including his son, with his poor judgment. After all this, the son is thankful that his father later saved his life. Go figure.

And to make matters worse, the film lacks tension, even during the action scenes which play out like a foregone conclusion. It is quite slow and boring. The kid is an awful actor; he is much too educated and 21st century for this movie; part of that is the lines they make him speak, but his delivery is not convincing. Luis Guzman plays a Franciscan monk who's addicted to whiskey, and also talks like he's fresh from the barrio. What gives? The only interesting things about this film are the gorgeous cinematography, and Kris Kristofferson's gleaming old-world eyes and smile. But it's not enough to save this movie from looking so staged. Forgettable.

5 points.