Dead Man's Burden

It's technically very well done, the scenery is wonderful and it's a pretty good story. The acting is pretty good, too. So, why did I give it only five out of ten stars? There's just something about it, pacing maybe, that put me off. Or the ''look'' of it. It looks like it was shot with HD digital cams, and looks like the old TV Soaps used to look when they were shot on Video Tape, and everything looks a bit too 'real.'..Or something. Hard to describe.

Something different here. Story flows along not always in an expected direction. Directing and acting above average.

Dead Man's Burden is a low budget independent film that follows the story of a family post Civil War. I was impressed by Jared Moshé's directing and writing and while there is room for improvement I believe he does hold much skill and knowledge for film. The film location alone of New Mexico adds intrigue and beauty as well as capturing the tone of a traditional Western. Barlow Jacobs and David Call were decent, however at times rather cheesy. Clare Bowen gives a standout performance as Martha Kirkland. I hold high hopes for her in the future as she continues Nashville and works on future projects. All in all this film is worth viewing at least once and I urge you to give it a chance.

Director Jared Mosche makes a fine feature film debut with "Dead Mans Burden" This film made its east cost premier at the 20th Hamptons International Film Festival. Mosche brilliantly captures the lawlessness of the mid to late nineteenth century American west. The film centers around the death of a family member, and the mine that wants to purchase the family ranch. Richard Riehle (from the comedy "Office Space") does a fine job playing the best and only friend of the deceased. His performance captures the loneliness and disconnection of a person living in the middle of nowhere, coping with the death of his friend. Hopefully this film finds a distributor.

It was a good little independent film set in post civil war New Mexico. The actor's were good especially Clare Bowman. The location was perfect for the film. You could see why they would want to move away The interview the director gave at one of the film festivals was interesting. He really was glad to be an independent filmmaker. Thee wee a lot of twist and turns you don't expect.