film

Another hazy, loose-limbed thing of beauty from Filmoteca's Ross Brothers season here, in the shape of their 2015 film Western, a documentary/fiction hybrid that delves into small-town life in Texas. Western follows a loose ensemble of locals in the town of Eagle Pass, on the border with Mexico – drifters, barflies, teenagers, and dreamers – over the course of a long, hot, languid summer.

Luminously shot on 16mm film, we drift through dusty streets, past neon nights and through open landscapes, capturing both the monotony and the quiet poetry of everyday existence. Rather than a conventional narrative, Western unfolds as a series of encounters and impressions and its emotional weight, mood and texture build cumulatively.