Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Narrowsburg (2019) Camden International FIlm Festival

If you ever wanted to make a movie or wanted to run a film festival then you must see NARROWBURG about when Richard C. Castellano (Jimmy Bootsin ANALYZE THIS) moved up to a sleepy and tiny (it;s literally a block long) town in Sullivan County New York and decided to not only start the Sundance of the east, but also make a movie...and it all went sideways.

This was one of my must see films at CIFF. There was something about the subject of wannabe film people going off the road that appealed to me. It was the first film I had to see... and I was not disappointed.

While the film takes a couple of minutes to get going,  it simply goes from 5 MPH to 100 when the star of the madness Richard Castellano finally appears. Castellano was a ball of energy who bulldozed and charmed his way not only through the town but also through life. An ex-con who became an actor, he dreamed of bigger things and thought he found the perfect place in Narrowsburg.

As much as I want to discus what happens I am going to refrain. I want you all to take the ride as Castellano's hopes and dreams bleed into the town and then become turned. Its a crazy ass ride that we are better watching from the outside.

Filled with new interviews, old film footage shot by one of the guys in the town, as well as copious clips from FOUR DEADLY REASONS the film at the heart of the tale, this is a film that puts us in a particular time and place and makes us party to what happened. It also gives us the story from several people who who caught up in the madness so its clear this isn't just one version of what happened.

Half way into the film I was sending out missives to friends saying that they had to keep an eye out for this because they would fall madly in love with the film.

I think you'll love it too. This is not only a warning about the hubris that filmmaking can bring on, but it's also a grand tale in its own right.

Highly recommended.

NARROWSBURG will be playing September 20th in Narrowsburg New York as the Opening Night Film of  the Big Eddy Film Festival which rose up from the ashes of the Narrowsburgh International Film Festival.

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