Cowboy Del Amor (Documentary)
Picture: C Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Documentary: B-
The mail
order bride is alive and well in Michele Ohayon’s documentary Cowboy Del Amor (2005) with new print
and even high tech twists. Ivan Thompson
has discovered that too many men are fed-up with demanding women and has built
a business around setting up these U.S. guys with Mexican women. Now is this something out of misogyny or is
there something more to it? The
reactionary thing to consider is such a thing women-bashing, but is there
something more to this?
The 87
minutes asks this question while showing us the unique character of Ivan in a
way that is not an exploitive joke like too many “reality TV” shows or lesser
documentaries. He’s a down home older man
who is sincere about helping any client he can and both parties are usually
nice and friendly, though apprehension does show up sometimes.
Of
course, the corollary is the non-success of these men with women in the U.S.
who seem too demanding in a way that is far more about material things than a
real relationship. Is this just
something native to The South for some reason, or is it without being
overgeneral, just a by-product of what has happened to relationships in our
society in general?
The South
is never even implicitly indicted, though with some of the areas being so dead
end, maybe the desire for more is the really about the denial of so much
unhappiness. That may not be addressed
in any way either, though there are hints of this here and there. Then there is Ivan who is still controversial
to this day particularly with the U.S. women who are outraged at him in ways
that are not their business to begin with, but the conflict of that misery with
occasional love and happiness via Ivan makes this interesting despite
repetition.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is softer than expected, shot on DV of
some kind. You can tell this more and
more as more HD and HD downtrade material gets produced. It is edited well enough. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Stereo was mixed with
sound recorded on location and has little in the way surrounds. It is serviceable and balanced enough, coming
mostly from the front channels. Extras
include a full length audio commentary with Ohayon and company, dumb mail, Ivanisms and A Story Of Revenge.
- Nicholas Sheffo
