Frontier
(2001)
What can you say about the Zellner Brothers'
"Frontier?" Whatever you say will only spoil the film
for the uninitiated. Let me just say this: It is an
avant- garde comedy. As absurd as Ionnesco. As unique
as... well, so unique as to be uncatagorizable. I
guarantee you have never seen anything like it. You
must see it. There. My job is done. Now, for those
of you who refuse to see it, or have already seen
it, or enjoy having delightful surprises spoiled,
I will continue...
Okay - I will put a little bit about
the Zellners here and some other stuff about the film
so those who inadvertently look down still have time
to click elsewhere. The Zellners, David and Nathan,
are from Austin and have made some shorts and one
other film here. My friend Mark Brauner plays in their
short "Gentleman Caller." Wiley Wiggins has starred
in both of their features, this film and "Plastic
Utopia." Wiley has a rather large part in the film
as do both of the brothers. A marvellous young actress
named Stephanie Wilson rounds out the quartet of characters
in the piece.
"Frontier" takes place in an unnamed,
supposedly untamed, area of land that the fictional
nation of "Bulbovia" is attempting to catalogue and
cultivate. Two soldiers, one disabled, arrive in the
bucolic outback of this undiscovered country and begin
to catalogue the place. But soon the disabled soldier
begins to seemingly communicate with nature and finds
himself cured. It leads him into a world of antiestablishment
and abandon that has him fornicating and frolicking
with trees and animals alike. When his wife, whom
he has left, suddenly arrives on the scene, only the
two other males in the neighborhood, the other soldier
and a amnesiac native, seem interested in her. The
cured soldier is too busy communing with the elements.
Of course, there is much more going
on her, including some strange natives, a commentary
on ridiculousness of dictatorships and "Manifest Destiny,"
and some discussion of male/female bonding. But more
or less the film is just silly fun. If one wants to
delve deeply, one could formulate an idea that the
film might be a subtle message about man's inability
to inhabit the planet without destroying it. This
may not be an incorrect assumption. Surely the idea
that the intrusive soldiers find a nirvana which they
cannot accept or comprehend, let alone nurture or
allow to nurture them, and, as a result, are destroyed
by the place, is not far from the mark. But trying
to get pearls of wisdom from this creative and wacky
farce is like trying to shoot pool with rope. It's
too tiresome. Just sit back and enjoy.
Oh, okay. It's also fun to rethink
the film on a second viewing. Noting the idea and
themes of the piece at first, a second chance to watch
the film allowed me to note many things that can be
misinterpreted. For example, the endless shots of
insect life, which seem to be merely atmosphere and
segue fodder initially, suddenly become a hint of
"evil" when the film is known to you. The true natives
we cannot tame or civilize.
If there is any fault with the film,
and there are few, it is this: The film is simply
too absurd and sublime for many. Several people at
the screening I attended walked out. They just didn't
get it. This is a deep and cerebral comedy. The humor
is best when shared with folks of like intelligence.
In other words: Dumbasses ain't gonna get it. But
if you watch the film with some folks who share you
intelligence, you will end up laughing your ass off.
Finally, I must make mention of the
fact that my beloved Wiley isn't nearly as manic and
buck wild as I would like him to be in the film. Although
he simulates fornicating with all manner of nature
and beast in "Frontier," he never fully captures the
essence of a character who might do so. Wiley seems
inhibited and self-conscious in some scenes. Or perhaps
I'm just miffed because he doesn't go bare-assed.
Hey, at least you get to see him in some boxers. That
alone is worth the price of admission, as absurd as
it seems.
Note:
Shot on DV.
