"Evening Sun" Over Texas Skies

"A ruthless grudge match between two old foes. Lines are drawn, threats are made, and the simmering tension under the Tennessee sun erupts, inevitably, into savagery." I have not yet discovered where this premise - or is it an excerpt from a book or poem? - for "That Evening Sun" comes from or if it was chalked up by the filmmakers for the sake of SXSW programs, but it's spreading like wildfire all across the internet, wherever this trailer shows up, although it is a mighty fine way of summing up the film. At least by the looks of this exceptionally unsettling trailer, it is. The film, directed by Scott Teems, brings to mind Sidney Lumet's "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead," which is also about exceedingly normal people on the descent after a confrontation turns volatile, and after bad actions become irrevocable. It just won the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast (but lost out to "Made in China" for Overall Narrative Feature) as well as the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at SXSW in Austin, Texas, which wraps on the 22nd. I can't wait to see this.


The film stars Hal Holbrook from "Into the Wild" doing his best Walt Kowalski impersonation (from Clint Eastwood's "Gran Torino") though this film looks a little more consistent in its gritty, bucolic tone, and Holbrook himself looks less self-aware, as if this were a new sort of character for him. And now he's front and center. Mia Wasikowska, Ray McKinnon, Carrie Preston and Walter Goggins also star.

Other winners of the fest in Austin were "45365" for Documentary Feature, directed by Bill Ross, which explores everyday life in Middle America - but specifically Sidney, Ohio, which provides its zip code as the title - and the people who keep it going. (Diane Sawyer's special about Appalachia that aired a few weeks ago on ABC could append this exploration, although this is Kentucky and the film's in Ohio.) Honorable mention for the category went to "The Way We Get By" by Aron Gaudet. As for the Emerging Visions Award, that went to "Motherland" by Jennifer Steinman, about six grieving mothers and their journey to Africa in an effort to test the theory that "giving is healing." "MINE" by Geralyn Pezanoski won the Audience Documentary Feature, which uses the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath of lost and abandoned pets to explore issues of race, class and animal welfare in America. And as I mentioned already, "Made in China" won Best Narrative Feature. Directed by Judi Krant, it is about an inventor who gets lost in Shanghai and ultimately discovers that "it takes more than a bright idea to succeed." More details about these films are at Variety. More awards and winners at Filmmaker Magazine.

Will you be peering into the "Evening Sun"?


TRAILER from: Trailer Addict
SCOOPED first by: Variety