Who is Bozo Texino? (2005)
Bill Daniels’ work as an American filmmaker and artist tries to bridge certain social and economic barriers. His bio states that since 1980 he has documented punk culture, “bicycle messengers, radical environmentalists, swap meet guitar players, rural drag racers, and ‘water squatters’--outlaw anchored live-aboards.” Not mere spectacles, Daniels’ films communicate.
Who is Bozo Texino? Is a short film (55 mins.) that documents a simple yet powerful art – monikers in wax crayon on boxcars for “quick application; easy recognition” – chronicling a subculture that refuses to be forgotten. Armed with these accoutrements and a wanderlust, a 100-year tradition moves and is moved by the clanging of the rail with an elusive and fugitive hero at its stead…Bozo Texino. In the director’s words, “no matter what the disappointment might be in finding the lonely reality behind a particular myth or graffiti, there is a mystery, or truth, that will always evade the documentarian and the audience.”
Attesting to the intrusion of folklore, mythology, half-truths, lies and personal bias that are inseparable from the medium of documentary film, and from history itself, the image communicates.
At times, the inherent rough quality of the film makes it difficult and confusing to discern who is speaking and precisely what they are saying. Nonetheless, with an original music score composed by prolific Texas-based artist and musician, Tim Kerr, and visuals as haunting as they are beautiful, the film opens a window upon the impossible love between human beings and the sublime.
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Grading
- Story NA
- Acting NA
- Visuals A-
- Originality/Innovation A-
- Enjoyability B+
- Overall B+
- DVD Extras NA
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