Big Rig

I have to admit that I was very impressed with the film. While I wasn't too concerned about the actual film making aspect of it, I was paying close attention to the reality and detail of what the film was presenting to the viewers (after all it was a documentary). The subject matter that was presented was great, and the choice of drivers in the film was very diverse and a very real portal to some of the characters one would meet at any truck stop, anywhere, on any day in the US.

The film may be scattered somewhat jumping from driver to driver, and it never really gives an idea of what happens or where the people end up at the end of the film. It's more of a snapshot of the daily life of the truck driver, and relies more on stories about how they got to that point in their lives and includes some road stories from the past. It barely touches the surface of the actual daily struggles of a truck driver, but it's done in a nice neutral way that doesn't try to sway the viewer. Some drivers are likable, some are not. The situation throughout the film "is what it is".

If you've ever been curious about who those drivers are in those big trucks sharing the road with you, this movie is a very good place to start and get an idea.

Big Rig screened this week at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX where it was very well-received. Big Rig is an entertaining and very personnel look at truckers that attempts to counter the many negative stereotypes that Americans have about truckers. The film acts to humanize this group that most Americans know little about. The cinematography of the American landscape as viewed from trucks driving across America is quite beautiful. This is backed up by an entertaining soundtrack. The truckers interviewed are often quirky characters who come off as much smarter and reflective than most of us would expect.

In the film, we see a great variety of truckers of different backgrounds, races, personalities, ages, and politics. The film also includes several female truckers and talks about the difficulties that they face in a male-dominated world. The focus is mostly on who the truckers are, why they do what they do, and the difficulties that they face (rising gas prices, time away from their families, government regulation, etc.). The film also tries to show us how crucial and under-appreciated the role of trucking is in our national economy.

The only real weakness is that by only telling the story entirely from the truckers' perspective, they provide a portrait that is almost entirely sympathetic and essentially uncritical. They never speak to any consumer advocates or critics of trucking industry, for example. They don't discuss many of the problems that truckers cause for the roads, other motorists, or the environment. They don't really explore much about trucking industry and its faults. The view is more personal and in this case that's mostly a positive. The film is charming and scenic view of an under-appreciated American subculture that is in many ways the unseen backbone of much of the American economy.

This documentary starts off with two truckers venturing an opinion that without those in their industry the entire American economy would grind to a standstill within three days. Although neither of them provided any economic research to support their contention their point was still quite compelling. From there the film then zeroes in on several truckers as they go about their business and provide us with personal insights on their daily lives. And it's the differences between them that cause this documentary to lose its overall focus as few of them share the same general concerns. For example, one female driver is so afraid for her safety at truck stops that she refuses to come out of her sleeper cab during the night. Meanwhile, another trucker has a woman in just about every town he stays in. But the person who really sticks out is the simpleton from Idaho who points to the Confederate flag on his dashboard and proclaims that it represented true "freedom" back in the day. Apparently, he didn't study history very well because, if he had, he would have known that under that same flag--which he proudly praises--were hundreds of thousands of slaves who were badly beaten and abused in the process. No doubt if they were alive today, they would gladly refute any ideas that they were living in "freedom". And if that wasn't bad enough, he then goes on to voice his displeasure at the current government and loudly advocates for a revolution to overthrow it. Never mind that he has no real idea of what to replace it with. Apparently, he hasn't quite thought that far ahead. Be that as it may, the really fortunate thing is that--although he has the freedom to voice his opinion--others also have the freedom to disregard it for the ignorant ravings that they truly are. Ironically, the next scene features a different trucker informing us of how "patriotic" they are. No doubt most are--but I would venture to guess he never met the guy before him. In summation, although this documentary does offer a unique perspective on the life of several truckers, it lacks a consistent theme which diminishes the overall effect and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

I had high hopes for this based on the description and the reviews of others. I was, needless to say based on my headline, disappointed completely. The movie follows way too many people, very little of it is actually about big rigs or the life of a truck driver, much of it was too political (seemed mostly like fairly uninformed political discussion), and too much of it merely solidified the stereotypes of truckers that the film seemed to want to get away from. On top of all that, none of it was very interesting.

The main problem is the film lacks a solid narrative foundation. The editing is horrendous, jumps all around the country, often leaving you with no idea where we're off to next or if there's any goal in mind. They'd introduce a character, spend 2 mins with him then suddenly leave and never bring the guy back. One guy's entire time on camera was basically him sitting in his broken down truck, and only after nearly 2 hours do we see what on earth happened- yet, even here, we don't get a true sense of what a trucker would do in such a circumstance. The MTV style editing with a millisecond of a random object was distracting as well. It seems like the director didn't get enough coverage for any of the scenes- why else leave in all the annoying zoom in shots where he tried, often in vain, to get an object in focus- an object that had no bearing on the story itself? That took away from the film's aesthetic, and with the shabby narrative, this movie needed all it could get in that dept.

Just generally a disappointing effort throughout. I enjoyed a couple of the stories, and we did get small glimpses into the lives of truck drivers, but nowhere near enough to justify 100+ mins. And let's even discuss in too much detail the endless montages of random road signs and roadway accompanied by music that was a good 3 times louder than any of the dialogue- I had to turn the volume up and down, up and down the entire time. Interesting idea, tragically flawed result.

This movie is a great concept and brings us some great stories and personalities. It's educational and fun to ride with the truckers featured here. Unfortunately, the filmmaker doesn't seem to trust them to make an exciting film by themselves, and so there is near-schizophrenic cutting throughout (the average shot is probably about 3 seconds) and an overpowering amount of music to accompany every moment. It's also shot like an extended episode of Road Rules, with countless montages of road signs and scenery backed by aforementioned beat-heavy rock. I think the movie would actually be half as long if you took out these interludes. Which is a shame, because based on the amount of road footage the film includes, the filmmakers must have spent quite awhile on the road, and have got to have many more interview reels with truckers than they put in the final version. Since the filmmaker himself doesn't have much to say beyond the fact that truckers are good people and trucks are important, it's too bad that he didn't let the truckers say more themselves.