600 Miles

600 Miles

It's an engrossing movie, there is a lot of 'what's going on' and 'what's going to happen'. There are some weak links like 'why doesn't Arnulfo just drive off at the critical time instead of wading in way till he's in way over his head?' This incident was weak but it set up the situation that made the bulk of the movie. How we got there wasn't really important. Arnulfo is also absolutely the wrong guy for this job. I dunno, maybe when your operation depends foremost on loyalty, competence comes second and when things go wrong you end up in the shit.
    At the beginning of the movie there is a scene in a gun store and another at a gun show. I like guns. I've been to gun shops and gun shows and it was always a little thrilling. I mean, like wow! Look at all the really cool guns! Didn't bother me in the least.
    But seeing them in this movie was a bit of a shock. The presentation might have had something to do with it. Everything looks pretty normal, everyday life, people going about their business and then we see a display of guns on the back wall of a store, and then the camera pans and more guns come into view, and then we pan some more and there's even more guns. It was a really big gun shop, bigger than any I've ever seen. The gun show, on the other hand, was small potatoes compared to the ones I've been to.
    The ending is kind of annoying. The last scene is a couple having breakfast in the kitchen. The picture goes away and is replaced by a black screen and the credits start rolling, but the sound track continues. You hear the sound of dishes and bits of inconsequential conversation. I'm wondering what the heck? Is this just a stupid pet trick, or are they going to pull a rabbit out of the hat? But nothing happens, life just goes on like normal until the credits end and I realize that the movie was over five minutes ago.
    We saw this at Cinema 21 on 21st Street in Portland. It is playing as part of the Portland International Film Festival.