Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Meeks cutoff is a 2010 american western film directed by kelly reichardt. In old joy 2006, wendy and lucy 2008, and now in meeks cutoff, she portrays a nation full of quiet, almost traumatised seekers after a. Despite 55 film credits, the star of kelly reichardt. Meek s cutoff on dvd september, 2011 starring paul dano, bruce greenwood, shirley henderson, zoe kazan. Their escort is stephen meek bruce greenwood, a loquacious, overfriendly cowboy, who has a tacit. Everything you need to know about meeks cutoff movie 2011. Meek cutoff was a covered wagon road that branched off the oregon trail in northeastern oregon and was used as an alternate emigrant route to the willamette valley in the mid19th century. If you enjoy watching films that have absolutely no conclusion to them whatsoever then this is the movie for you. May 06, 2011 meeks cutoff stands a little further back a century and a half, give or take. Meek s cutoff oscilloscope features is kelly reichardts fifth feature film, and the third to receive any significant theatrical release. This is western, but meeks cutoff continually emphasizes labour and labour is gender specific. A simple wikipedia search will show how inaccurate this movie is.
Rent meek s cutoff 2011 starring michelle williams and bruce greenwood on dvd and bluray. Apr 15, 2011 it s the oregon trail, 1845, and nothing much is happening to a lost wagon train of three families. Claiming to know a short cut, meek leads the group on an unmarked path across the high plain desert, only to become lost in the dry rock and sage. Watch free westerns movies and tv shows online tubi. An evenstar films, filmscience and harmonyprimitive nerd presentation. Apr 14, 2011 kelly reichardt is a poet of american solitude.
This is an ambitious period piece that nonetheless retains reichardts talent for capturing human. Meek s cutoff follows a couple of families as they follow a man named meek who promised them he could get them to the mountains quicker then the trail. It s the film meek s cutoff, and mountain man stephen meek bruce greenwood is the guide whose cutoff has landed the voyagers without water and no idea where to get it or to their destination, traversing the cascades. Working on a richer and more intricate canvas than shes previously attempted, kelly reichardt has pulled off a rare thing with meeks cutoff a lowbudget period western with a. The first film ive seen that evokes what must have been the reality of wagon trains to the west. Stephan meek, a fur trader, suggested avoiding the blue mountains because it was thought that the indians were murderous in that region. A horrible excuse of a movie to portray this as meek s cutoff. The first thing that bears mentioning with regards to meeks cutoff is the trailer and it does connect to the film in a very real way. Both movies have many long stretches in which seemingly nothing happens, and thats also the case with meek s cutoff. Meeks cutoff 2010 online sa prevodom popcorn srbija. The year is 1845, the earliest days of the oregon trail, and a wagon train of three families has hired mountain man stephen meek to guide them over the cascade. Its a western, but its completely unlike any western ive ever seen.
Set in 1845, meek s cutoff carves its own visual path, steering away from becoming overly consumed with the stunning landscape the characters often ignore or endure their natural surroundings. With michelle williams, bruce greenwood, paul dano, will patton. Meeks cutoff is undeniably a fascinatingly idiosyncratic. The film is roughly based on a true incident, which created the alternative trail meek s cutoff, that runs from vale, oregon to the dalles at the columbia river. Meek s cutoff is a 2010 american western film directed by kelly reichardt. The year is 1845, the earliest days of the oregon trail, and a wagon train of three families has hired mountain man stephen meek to guide. Its a spare period piece about a band of pioneers lost in the wastelands of the oregon high desert. Meeks cutoff programs its responses under the apparent guise of an objective depiction. It s this austere filmmaker s first period piece and her. Apr 08, 2011 this is meek s cutoff, a brooding western of sorts which trails three families inching across the oregon desert by foot and wagon in 1845.
A new trailer for director kelly reichardt s western meek s cutoff has arrived. In kelly reichardts meeks cutoff the title seems to reference the abrupt ending the conclusion may have been dictated by budget. Both williams and reichardt join fresh air s terry gross for a discussion about the film, which. The performances, photography and score are excellent. Meeks cutoff, which recently screened at venice in competition and. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing meek s cutoff near you.
It concerns a small group of pioneers trekking across 1845 oregon, led by stephen meek a never better bruce greenwood. To set aside its many other accomplishments, meek s cutoff is the first film ive seen that evokes what must have been the reality of wagon trains to the west. Watch free westerns movies and tv shows online in hd on any device. We see a complete arc in how we perceive emily at the end of the film when meek realises his loss of power and submits himself to emily. Jun 16, 2017 le film meeks cutoff 2010 vostfr admin 20170616t20. Feb 25, 2011 the year is 1845, the earliest days of the oregon trail, and a wagon team of three families has hired the mountain man stephen meek to guide them over the cascade mountains. Tubi offers streaming westerns movies and tv you will love. Meek s cutoff is a montage of seductive landscape paintings masquerading as a movie. The year is 1845, the earliest days of the oregon trail, and a wagon train of three families has hired mountain man stephen meek. Meek s cutoff could be the most understated, and historically accurate, horror film in history. The jacob burns film center jbfc is a nonprofit cultural arts center dedicated to teaching literacy for a visual culture. Kelly reichardts remarkable new film isnt a revisionist westernits a rediscovery. The journey was a particularly hard one, and many of the pioneers lost their lives. Kelly may have stolen our plans and completed work on a time machine.
Rent meeks cutoff 2011 on dvd and bluray dvd netflix. The film reunites the filmmakers and oscope who previously worked. Kelly reichardts meeks cutoff is a slowburn, minimalist representation of the great spirit of blind hope and adventure that lead the frontier men and women into. The film stars michelle williams and paul dano in a story about three families who become lost on the oregon trailer. The film was shown in competition at the 67th venice international film festival. I find it difficult to watch a film portraying something historical, and completely destroying history in the process. Meeks cutoff could be the most understated, and historically accurate, horror film in history. They were grueling, dirty, thirsty, burning and freezing ordeals. They are lost, food and water are running out, and the surrounding desert threatens to. The road was named for frontiersman stephen meek, who was hired to lead the first wagon train along it in 1845. May 11, 2011 to set aside its many other accomplishments, meek s cutoff is the first film ive seen that evokes what must have been the reality of wagon trains to the west. He claims to know a shortcut, but when they soon become lost. December 2012 november 2012 october 2012 september 2012.
The story is loosely based on a historical incident on the oregon trail in 1845, in which frontier guide stephen meek led a wagon train on an illfated journey through the oregon desert along the route later known as the meek cutoff in the. The first thing that bears mentioning with regards to meek s cutoff is the trailer and it does connect to the film in a very real way. Meek s cutoff is a boring ol handful of nothin that wastes good actors and cinematography on what could have basically been a short film. The cost of feeding the oxen and horses on meeks cutoff was equal to the entire budget of reichardts second film the melancholy buddy movie. Then we look upon the indian through emilys gaze framed by the half dead half alive tree. Meek s cutoff 2011 during the 1840s, six settlers and their guide are caught in a dangerous situation. The first thing you see in meeks cutoff, after a handscrawled title card placing the action in the oregon territory in 1845, is a small group of settlers fording a river. The desert near bend, oregon has been desolate, isolated and arid since time immemorial. Kelly reichardts frontier drama meek s cutoff opens in the year 1845, on the wideopen plains of oregon, where a wagon team of three families has set out on a journey along the oregon trail. The film is a brilliant revision of the american western. In some areas, the terrain looks much like it did during the mid1800s, when settlers headed west on the oregon trail. A horrible excuse of a movie to portray this as meeks cutoff. Last year, jonathan demme presented her debut feature, river of grass as part of his rarely seen.
The film manages a sense of gritty realism without resorting to overstating the harsh conditions for. Meeks cutoff 2010 kelly reichardt is among the most consistently brilliant indie film directors around, so it should come as no surprise that meeks cutoff, her stab at. Meeks cutoff is a very slowmoving western about three pioneer families lost in the sagebrush, looking for a mountain pass into oregon. Their guide, a mountain man named stephen meek, has led them astray, telling them about a supposed shortcut off the main oregon trail. The film s refusal to spectacularize the emigrants hardships, as well as the story s lack of a clear beginning or end, signal major difficulties driving this. April 8th, 2011 the year is 1845, the earliest days of the oregon trail, and a wagon team of three families has hired the mountain man stephen meek to guide them over the cascade. Apr 08, 2011 michelle williams portrays a member of a pioneer family crossing oregon territory in meeks cutoff, directed by kelly reichardt. Much like her previous two movies, kelly reichardts meek s cutoff is a minimalist little gem that refuses to fit into any sort of mold that weve seen before. In 1845, the earliest days of the oregon trail, a wagon train of three families hires mountain man stephen meek to guide them over the cascade mountains. Meeks cutoff represents a significant step forward for director kelly reichardt, a critical darling whose work to this point old joy, wendy and lucy ive faintly admired. December 2012 november 2012 october 2012 august 2012 july 2012 june 2012 may 2012. Reichardt draws heavily on womens diaries from the period, and part of the films success. Meeks cutoff is a very, very slow movie, with little or no traditional turning points in the script.
Even a low budget film could show the accurate history. He calls meeks cutoff a genuine art film, referencing this genres. From an academic perspective, yannis tzioumakis 2012a argues that the independent and. Apr 08, 2011 meek s cutoff oscilloscope features is kelly reichardt s fifth feature film, and the third to receive any significant theatrical release. One film that does a great job of revealing the mighty span of history thats implicit in a small groups westward voyage is terrence malicks the new. I have not seen, in quite some time, a movie that has messed with my head as thoroughly as meek s cutoff has these past couple of days. Also, i challenge anyone who thought the long night episode of game of thrones is too dark to check this one out for comparison. The cost of feeding the oxen and horses on meek s cutoff was equal to the entire budget of reichardts second film the melancholy buddy movie old joy, which starred the singersongwriter will. Forse non sara possibile che meeks cutoff venga apprezzato da tutti. Meeks cutoff kelly reichardt from the opening shot, as the 3wagon troupe embarks on an agonizingly slow trip crossing the river, director kelly reichardt lets us know this is a new take on the western, a sparingly bleak look at an 1845 trip through the oregon desert. Reviews meeks cutoff does not dwell upon the failings of the men as much as it champions the virtues of the women, so often forgotten or reduced to less flattering archetypes in the western. Meek s cutoff film, a 2010 film telling the story of the party blazing the trail disambiguation page providing links to topics that could be referred to by the same search term this disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title meek s cutoff. The year is 1845, the earliest days of the oregon trail, and a wagon train of three families has hired mountain man stephen meek to guide them over the cascade mountains.
The travelers keep moving, and they keep searching for water, but the ultimate point of the movie isnt about finding water its about the different sides of any story and how nothing is fixed or definite. Over the years from watching movie westerns, ive developed a composite image of wagon. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. After watching the trailer youd get the sense that while this will be a dramatic western and one with a journey but itd be more uptempo.
Its both the scariest and most poetic film of the year. Kelly reichardt is an awardwinning filmmaker and screenwriter, and widely hailed as one of our most important contemporary filmmakers. The year is 1845 and a wagon train of three families has hired mountain man stephen meek to guide them over the cascade mountains. May, 2011 a western that strips away many of the genres populist conventions, meeks cutoff loosely adapts the story of stephen meek and the wagon trail he led into the oregon high desert that resulted in 23 deaths he judged it wholly successful. At the film forum, 209 west houston street, west of. The narrative of meek s cutoff is very simple, and as the tension gradually builds to an inevitable, presumably climatic, conclusion, i was thinking to myself. Even worse, the abrupt, infuriating ending leaves the ultimate fate of the pioneers up in the air and lets viewers decide whether or not the pioneers made a huge mistake in trusting the indian. Settlers traveling through the oregon desert in 1845 find themselves stranded in harsh conditions. Perhaps it knows that if it does nothing it cant be accused of doing anything wrong. As had been the case with many indie features before, meeks cutoff.
Apr 14, 2011 michelle williams plays settler emily tetherow in kelly reichardt s frontier drama meek s cutoff. Perhaps the most powerful moment in the film is when she. Over the years from watching movie westerns, ive developed a. Michelle williams stars in a bleak, enigmatic and masterful western about families on the oregon trail. As with her previous films, meeks cutoff also maintains a functional style. Apr 08, 2011 enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing meeks cutoff near you. Feb 06, 2015 in 1845, the earliest days of the oregon trail, a wagon train of three families hires mountain man stephen meek to guide them over the cascade mountains. The civil war was yet to take place and much of the land was unexplored and unclaimed. If meek s cutoff is every inch a western, it s an art film mutant of the genre, inching along with intensely naturalistic obsession for detail that courts tedium even as it dares us not to pay. Meeks cutoff sbs on demand, news, sport, food, movies. Meeks cutoff stands a little further back a century and a half, give or take. Reichardts previous films were smallscale indie doodles slight exercises in atmosphere and introspection.
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