The Tonto Woman (2007)

Director:

Daniel Barber

Writers:

Elmore Leonard (story)
Joe Shrapnel (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Drama | Romance | Western

Plot:

A white woman is kidnapped from her home by Apache Indians. Traded to the Mojave Indians, she lives...

Plot Keywords:

Shooting | Cattle Rustler | Female Nudity | Confession | Topless Woman

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

Cast

Charlotte Asprey	...	Sarah Isham
Richard Brake	...	Isham
Sam Douglas	...	Bonnet
Lola Garcia	...	Ramona Halloran
John Golightly	...	The Priest
Duncan Marwick	...	Clyde
Dan Mullane	...	Tom Halloran
Una Nicholson	...	Waitress
Francesco Quinn	...	Ruben Vega
Lex Shrapnel	...	Springfield

Runtime:

UK:35 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Knucklehead

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 80th Annual Academy Awards (2008) (TV)

Relatively weak

I saw this movie at a special showing by a local film society of all the Oscar nominated Live Action Shorts about a week or so before the Oscars were announced. Of the five nominees, THE TONTO WOMAN is by far the weakest--with both me and my daughter finding the film a bit dull and overly long. While it had come decent cinematics, the pacing was very slow and the story just wasn't engaging compared to the other four films.

The film begins with a man in a confessional out in the Old West. Part way through his long litany of sins, the guy stumbles out of the confession booth--apparently bleeding and dying. Then the story does a flashback to let you know how the man got to be in such a state.

While the movie was reasonably competent and is watchable, it's not especially pleasant or rewarding. Also, parents be aware that there is quite a bit of nudity in the film--so think twice before letting your kids see this.

UPDATE--Apparently I am lousy at guessing Oscars, as MOZART OF PICKPOCKETS just won the award for 2008.