It is a rare film indeed that manages to capture the wonder and infinite possibility of being a child while also remembering that childhood can be an overwhelming, frightening and out of control experience. Guillermo Del Toro's best works are fantasy-tinged meditations on this point, Alfonso Cuaron dabbles in this material from time to time and Canada's Jean-Marc Vallee had a major - and much deserved - hit with his C.R.A.Z.Y. because he got this balance exactly correct. And now it looks as though Finnish effort Last Cowboy Standing is looking to mine that same fertile ground.
In 1972, Rupert, 8 and Evert, 6 are two lovable and wildly imaginative brothers, lost in their cowboys-and-indians fantasies and in the playground romances with the neighbourhood girls. In the background is the warm but explosive and unstable mother, and the charming but unreliable father. The family has moved to a new house, the future looks bright.Everything starts to fall apart when Rupert finds a hidden letter. There are terrible fights and hushed whispers, then mom is taken somewhere to rest for a while. Later on there is confusing talk about a new mom. The brothers make a blood oath: One can´t lie or die or one has to pay the other a million or more for the rest of his life. Rupert tries to hold the family together. But finally things get too complicated, and real tragedy waits in the wings of the fantasy plays.
In 1982 the guilt-ridden 18-year-old Rupert tries to remember and understand the events of the past amidst the chaos of the present. If he doesn´t find absolution, the family tragedy will be repeated and the curse will live on. Dad is coming home and the blood oath is about to be broken.
Based on the just released trailer, this one looks much more Vallee than Del Toro but whoever you want to compare it to, it just looks flat-out good. Check it out below the break.
