An Open Lens Prods. production. Produced by Jonathan VanBallenberghe, Sharon Wahl. Directed, edited by Jonathan VanBallenberghe.
With: D.C. "Rooster" Cogburn.
A fluky collision between big dreams and bad luck is recounted with equal measures of tall-tale humor and melancholy pathos in Jonathan VanBallenberghe's "The Ostrich Testimonies," an anecdotal documentary that could find a simpatico aud on any of several cable networks. Theatrical release is unlikely, but not inconceivable.
D.C. "Rooster" Cogburn, the robustly engaging "star" of the piece, is a retired rodeo animal trainer and self-described "redneck in overalls" who envisioned a profitable career as an ostrich rancher -- and, as a side venture, operator of a roadside petting zoo -- in Arizona. Initially, he enjoys significant success. (Ostrich meat has less fat and cholesterol than chicken or turkey.) But when hot-air balloonists hovering over his ranch cause his birds to fatally stampede, Cogburn is financially devastated. The rancher fares poorly in court against insurance company lawyers -- "It wouldn't have surprised me," he remarks with ill-disguised disgust, "if they would have brought out O.J.'s glove during the trial!" -- and at pic's end, Cogburn faces an uncertain future. (The balloonists declined to be interviewed on camera.) Hunter Robertson's banjo-driven score is apt accompaniment for doc's emotional highs and lows.
Camera (color, HD), VanBallenberghe; music, Hunter Robertson. Reviewed on DVD, Houston, March 16, 2008. (In SXSW Film Festival -- Emerging Visions.) Running time: 70 MIN.
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