Um Amor Diferente

Kd lang. In alaska. She's kotz, trying to find out who her family was, and where they came from. She works in the mine, passing as a man. And lacks some basic skills in dealing with society. But she makes friends with switha, the town librarian, who also wants to know what became of her own family. So off they go, on their journey. Do they love each other? Can they find the physical side of their love and friendship? And will everyone find their past? A smaller role for chuck connors. Good stuff. Lots of long pauses. Sweeping scenes of alaska. Some songs sung by lang herself. Directed by percy adlon, who had directed one of lang's music videos. And wrote this film specifically for lang. At the very end, the producers thank the people of kotzebue and the elders of kikiktagruk.

I'll watch anything with k.d. lang in it, but this movie is remarkable for much more than its star. Every part of the movie is exquisite -- the cinematography is incredible, the acting is intense, the music is powerful, and so on. Each character is beautifully developed as far as necessary for the story. I can't even find further words for this movie. I have seen a lot of movies, and to date there are only two I really believe in. This is one of them.

After clearing away all the acting and plot lines and cinematography and scripts, what I want to see in a movie is something that makes me sit up an take notice. Something that opens my eyes and my mind to some new previously-unperceived reality. Salmonberries does this in a powerful way. Salmonberries transports you to a place where you have never been, to a culture you have never known, and opens the hearts and souls of people you have never known, and lays it bare. See this film.

I like picking up random movies I've never heard of, to see what I think. This was one of them. I went in with no expectations and was still disappointed. If anything, I can usually get amusement and a laugh out of a strange movie, but this fell flat on all marks. The acting was bad because it was so flat. ...it was really bad. The story just kind of existed, and wasn't interesting in any way. Things progressed very slowly, which is fine in itself, but there was basically no feeling of anticipation. Now, I like off-beat stuff, but this, I just couldn't get into. I think it tries to be artsy at times, or something, I'm not really sure what to think about some of the scenes. It was just plain boring.

I'm giving it a 2/10 simply because I was able to finish the movie, and because I've seen worse. But make no mistake... This movie is quite bad. And not even in a funny way. I was having a hard time even picking a rating for this movie. It's kind of like watching an instructional video for your new Singer sewing machine- it's not really something that you rate. It just kind of... Exists.

Salmonberries is a beautiful film that is set in one of the harshest environments on Earth, in Kotzebue, Alaska. The story reveals many deep layers that overlap and entwine, and discovering those layers is powerfully insightful. I know I will never forget the characters of this film: Butch, Roswitha and Kotz. Getting by in such an environment would be incredibly difficult – the wind and the cold being the main factors. People are forced to live closely side-by-side simply for survival. Bingo Chuck represents all that could be wrong or unpleasant in such an environment. Butch represents that all obstacles and unpleasantness can be risen above to find one's own Nirvana, and he does so stunningly. One of the most beautiful films I have ever seen and I am so thankful to the Adlon family for their touching and honest perceptions, their tender ability to see the beautiful and the destructive and to offer it as Salmonberries. And many thanks to Conrad Gonzales.