Director: Paul von Stoetzel (Snuff)
Producers: Paul von Stoetzel
Starring: Jim Bishop, Tom Avery, Eleanor Every, Dan Bishop
MPAA Rating: NR
Running time: 101 min.
What started out as a documentary focusing on interesting and independent “roadside attractions” across Midwestern America turned into an examination of just two men’s obsession with their eccentric art. For documentary film maker Paul Von Stoetzel (Snuff [review]), this was a wise decision as the two men we get to spend over 90 minutes with are both cooky and fascinating. Each has a passion for what they do and for each man, their obsession has created waves in their “professional” and personal lives.
Tom Every is a former industrial wrecker from Wisconsin who has taken to building creatures, contraptions and “soulful” art purely out of scrap metal. Some are the size of a lamp, while others are as big as a small cottage. They represent life, dreams, energy or, like his “Forevertron,” a device created to launch his sould into outer space. Or some were even built as a sort of landing bay or launching pad for aliens. Meanwhile, Jim Bishop and his family live in the rural mountains in Colorado. With only sheer determination and a few rusty, worn out pieces of work equipment, Tom has spent the better part of his life building and maintaining a 160 foot tall castle made of roadside rocks, timber and scrap metal.
While a chunk of the movie is essentially a tour of the castle and the strange, almost steampunk sculptures, it’s clear that more interesting than the actual creations, are the creators. Not only as who they are as people, but also what their life’s work has come to mean for their families and with whom they come into contact. That said, a good portion of the film is devoted to spending some time inside the castle walls or looking at the gardens of scrap metal artistry. For a time, much like last year’s much lauded Exit Through the Gift Shop, the movie tackles the subject of what is and what is not art. But through the eyes of two outgoing and peculiar individuals who happen to be the creators of said art.
Their eccentricities become extremely evident with the way in which they speak of their projects. For Every, though calm and collected, his thoughts about aliens and vector angles for spiritual energy diversion immediately come off as more than a little strange. Bishop on the other hand is quite animated and passionate. So passionate in fact, that at times he’ll fly right off the handle and scream into the air about politicians, ignorant tourists or any number of life’s angers. Then on a dime he calms his voice and talks some more about his castle. He’s kind of all over the map in his talks and can be difficult to follow all of it… but in a good way, as he’s quite the interesting character. Von Stoetzel seems to recognize the inherent excitement that comes with following such a figure, so while the film focuses solely on just these two men and their families, it’s not an even 50/50 split. Just guessing, but I’d say close to 65% (or more) of the time is spent with Bishop and his giant castle.
As a sidenote, the movie is lashed together with some a some very fantastic musical tracks. Local artist Mike Gunther provides a lot of the original music. Some soulful old blues or ragtime punctuates the uniquely odd, but also happy-go-lucky and passionate men. The Leon Redbone inspired tracks also somehow instill a bit of nostalgia and awe that these atypical tourist attractions sort of embody.
The movie is quite the interesting look into two unique but different gentlemen. Their hobbies became their passion which eventually became their lives. And their lives may have some deep impact into the world around them (and beyond them) even after death – an idea most definitely explored in the film. As awe-inspiring and astounding as these treasures we might find as tourists or visitors are, the men behind these creations are the real treasures and this film really takes the time to capture that which may not otherwise be able to be seen by passersby.
Links:
IMDb
Amazon
Amazon Streaming
SnagFilm
In the meantime, take a look at the trailer below.
