FILMS WORTH WATCHING by Robert Alstead

Woody Harrelson wanted Go Further to be about "hope" . Photo: Sphinx Productions

Following in the spirit of Ken Kesey, eco-activist actor Woody Harrelson decided to take a consciousness-raising road trip down the US Pacific Coast.

Woody and a buddy cycled most of the way with the back-up gang, including his raw-food chef and a yoga instructor, following in a hemp-fuelled bus.

Ron Mann and crew were there to document the trip with a couple of DV cameras for Go Further, out on April 23.

In spite of feeling a tad contrived, Go Further’s sense of self-deprecating fun is infectious. Woody’s name is the pull, but a good part of the film is spent with one Steve Clark, who with his diet of tobacco and hot dogs and trashy Southern talk, seems an incongruous guest on the bus. You can see why they follow him though - he’s a natural comedian and perfect medium for dispensing the film’s serious ecological message.

A confessed junk-food addict, Steve learns the perils of drinking milk in the US where they haven’t banned Monsanto’s rBGH for increasing cows’ milk production. Milk is full of “blood and pus, dude!” Woody tells him during a fireside chat. Steve quickly becomes a convert to the organic lifestyle, spreading the message wherever he goes, whether it be to three kids in a pick-up who are wired on computer-screen-cleaning fluid, a young female student from England Steve picks up in San Fran and “kidnaps” back to The Mothership or even cows in the field.

As you have probably guessed by now the serious message that Woody takes to the universities down the coast, that mankind can still halt destruction of the planet, is leavened with a good dose of humour. Even the threatening talk from California redwood loggers becomes a running joke after Steve adopts their nickname for Harrelson - “Woody Allen.”

Ron Mann, who previously made alt propaganda doc Grass, mocking the US government’s war on pot, throws the rulebook on documentary making in the garbage can. You’re not meant to put in dream sequences in a documentary, are you? He does here, to keep things flowing.

There are also pop-video style interludes from eco-minded musicians Bob Weir, Michael Franti, Nathalie Merchant, Anthony Keidis, Medeski Martin and Wood, String Cheese Incident, Dave Matthews. And some cute cartoons of The Mothership as it chugs down the coast with little clouds saying “hemp” puffing from its exhaust. Cartoons worked for Bowling for Columbine, so why not?

The doc has a kind of chaotic, rambling narrative, with some people and places more interesting and relevant than others, but then this is a road trip and ramble is what you do. The serious stuff, like an excellent section showing frontline civil disobedience tactics at a training camp by eco-activists The Ruckus Society, probably benefits from having a lighter story around it.

The main point, that converting to organic diets, one of Woody’s favourite subjects, is not always easy, feels laboured, but the overarching spirit for change that Woody and his gang brings is a positive and life-affirming one. Good ol’, Woody! Go, dude, go!

WATCH OUT FOR

Highly topical, with the arrival this month of the Dalai Lama, is Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion out on April 9. Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Ed Harris and Martin Sheen provide voices and commentary for this empassioned look at the history and plight of this small and ancient theocracy.

Israeli family drama Broken Wings (Knafayim Shvurot) focuses on coming to terms with grief. The film, out on April 9, struck a chord with festival audiences and iofilm reviewer The Wolf who says, “Nir Bergman’s film has every right to be the biggest downer since Nil By Mouth, but, like Lilya 4-Ever, this is far from the case. There is much humour, warmth and humanity here... Broken Wings is a healer. You feel better for watching it.” Read his review.

Please note release dates were correct when going to press.

Robert Alstead runs movie ezine iofilm ( iofilm.ca / iofilm.com )