By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Kim Massee
Starring: Diego Mestanza | Françoise Klein | Thierry Levaret
Country: france
Year: 2007
Running time: 100
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0982867/
Bruce says: “COWBOY ANGELS begins with an eleven year old playing pinball in a smoky bar. We can tell it is late by the apparent drunkenness of the patrons. His mother (Françoise Klein) is at the bar, spilling her drinks and flirting with the men around her. It doesn’t take long to figure out this is a pattern not an aberration. A stranger is in town and begins frequenting the bar. His name is Louis (Thierry Levaret) and he soon finds himself in conversation with Pablo, the kid (Diego Mestanza). On a weekend when his mother has taken off with a boyfriend (client) Pablo tells Louis ‘I got a job for you.’ Pablo wants to go to Spain to find his father. ‘Are you in or are you out?’ asks Pablo? Thus begins a road trip similar to that of BROKEN FLOWERS; Pablo doesn’t really know who is father might be. On the way from Paris to Spain they stop to visit every man Pablo remembers his mother being involved with. Each man remembers Pablo fondly; each makes it clear he never wants to see Pablo’s mother again.
“The film soon becomes as mush about Louis’ needs as Pablo’s. A petty thug with low self esteem and poor relationship skills, he learns how to accept affection and to give it back. Louis offers some life lessons for Pablo: forcefulness, obedience, prioritization… to name a few. In Bayonne, they meet a wonderful waitress named Billie (Noëlie Giraud) and for a short while it looks as though the three of them will become one happy family. Director Kin Massee is not so sentimental as to allow that to happen; instead she aims for more realistic, albeit grim, territory. By the end of the film, one feels satisfied with the film’s integrity and not abused by any cheap emotion. Levaret is perfect in his role and Diego Mestanza, in real life the son of the director, has talent to burn. 3.5 cats
“COWBOY ANGELS screened at the 2007 New Directors/New Films festival co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center and MOMA.”