Wednesday, May 30, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
BUNKHOUSE: Film
is a metaphor for
a nation’s turmoil
Continued from page 5
capable, caustic, and funny,
with a real talent for painting,
a severe problem with alcohol,
and a tempestuous, uncompro-
mising love for his farm.
He believes, and when
he says it the viewer also
intensely believes him: “I am
becoming my farm.”
Dunning reminds us
that once “everything had a
meaning and everything had a
purpose, and that’s what is get-
ting lost now.” What he’s talk-
ing about is, I think, related to
what Wendell Berry calls “the
stewardship of humans.”
In “It All Turns on
Affection,” Berry wrote: “...
there must be a cultural cycle,
in harmony with the fertility
cycle, also continuously turn-
ing in place. The cultural cycle
is an unending conversation
between old people and young
people, assuring the survival
of local memory, which has,
as long as it remains local, the
greatest practical urgency and
value. This is what is meant,
and is all that can be meant,
by ‘sustainability.’ The fertil-
ity cycle turns by the law of
nature. The cultural cycle turns
on affection.”
I would argue that remain-
ing local isn’t necessarily a
requirement for sustainability
— because notions of code,
responsibility, and honor in
both the Iliad and the Odyssey
remain practical and urgent
in their value — thousands of
years and thousands of miles
from their origin.
The film meets Dunning at
a time when Mile Hill Farm is
Commentary...
‘The Rider’: Tale of man and horse
By Ceili Cornelius
Guest Columnist
As a Sisters Outlaw, now
a student at the University of
Oregon, I have many oppor-
tunities to learn from films
and speakers that come to the
university.
A couple weeks ago,
I took the opportunity to
view “The Rider,” directed
by Chloe Zhao, who also
directed “Song My Brothers
Taught Me” in 2015. “The
Rider” will show at Sisters
Movie House starting June 1,
just in time for the run-up to
the Sisters Rodeo.
The film tells the true
story of bronc rider “Brady
Blackburn,” played by him-
self, 22-year-old Brady
Jandreau, who traded in his
spurs for the acting chair.
Brady in the film is not a
“pretty” cowboy. He’s got
worn out Levi’s, a well-worn
leather belt with his tro-
phy belt buckle, old boots,
chaps of purple, dirty boots
and a worn-out bronc riding
saddle. In 2016, Brady suf-
fered a massive head injury
flying off a bucking bronco.
The injury required surgery.
The film opens with an inti-
mate view of his head gash
held together by staples: not
a pretty sight. He has trouble
sleeping at night and takes
pills for the pain. He is living
with his mentally disabled
sister Lily, and his deadbeat
gambling father, Wayne, in
their trailer in the middle
Hair &
Nails
Natural &
Artifi cial
541-549-6566
484 W. Washington Ave., Ste. B
of the grasslands of South
Dakota. Shortly after Brady
is recovering from his injury
he visits his good buddy Lane
Scott — the famous bull-rider
who was left wheelchair-
bound and unable to speak
after a massive accident.
Scott, played by himself,
was a playboy bull-riding
fool, and at just 18 suffered
an injury that changed him
forever. The connection
between Brady and Luke
is unwavering. Zhao said
when they filmed his scenes,
“Brady and Luke wouldn’t
even have to act, they were
just laughing and doing their
thing and communicating
through gestures.”
Throughout the film we
see the family struggle and
Brady’s tense relationship
with his father. Brady knows
he has to do something to
keep his family afloat, so he
goes to work for the local
grocery store. Throughout his
work, he encounters custom-
ers from around town, telling
him to stick with it and get
back in the saddle.
So, what does a 22-year-
old horse-riding fool do? He
turns to colt breakin’ — a
profession not for the faint of
heart. But he’s got the magic
touch. Apollo, the main horse
in the story, owned by a local
rancher, barely lets Brady
touch him and looks toward
him with wide eyes of fear.
After just a few runs around
the corral and weight pres-
sure shifts, Brady hops on
Apollo bareback with ease.
The horse trusts him.
Throughout the film, I was
thinking of Nugget columnist
Craig Rullman: a breaker of
horses himself. I’ve seen him
in action riding his new colt
Remi. I’m always in awe of
the cowboy’s connection to
the horse and the focus and
attentive, calm behavior it
takes. Zhao mentioned that’s
what the true moral of this
story is: “It’s the story of the
connection between a man
and his horse.” Not only did
I see that connection, I’ve
felt it. It’s tough to imagine
being in the boots of Brady,
not being physically able to
do what you love to do. The
film does a fabulous job of
depicting the prosaic life of
the Jandreau family, all por-
trayed by themselves, and
the importance of family and
connection with animals in
order to keep on keepin’ on.
The Rider is a film for
anyone interested in the rodeo
world and a story of persever-
ance, and the strength of the
connection between human
and horse.
hanging over a precipice. The
farm has given him three wives
and four children and taken
them all away. He is mostly
alone with his memories, his
paintings, his orchards and his
animals. And always the work.
And despite Dunning’s
impressive energy, intel-
ligence, and passions; and
despite his ravenous hunger for
life in the midst of a suicidal
pique, it is quite clear that the
13
existence of Mile Hill Farm —
134 acres of almost mythical
New England — is hanging on
by a mere thread in the intense
winds of a physical, cultural,
and spiritual tempest.
What I found so engaging
about this film is how accu-
rately and precisely a lone man
on his Vermont farm serves as
a metaphor for the similar tur-
moil of an entire nation, and I
urge you to check it out.
entertainment & EVENTS
WED...MAY 30
Food Cart Garden at
Eurosports Trivia Night 6:30
to 7:30 p.m. Sign-up 6:15 p.m.
Free! For information call
Eurosports at 541-549-2471.
Sisters Saloon Poker Night
7 p.m. Every Wednesday! $20.
For info call 541-549-7427 or
go online to sisterssaloon.net.
THURS...MAY 31
Sisters Saloon Karaoke
Night 9 p.m. to midnight.
Every Thursday, no cover! For
information call 541-549-7427
or go to sisterssaloon.net.
FRI...JUNE 1
Food Cart Garden at
Eurosports Live Music
with Peter Heithoff &
Patrick Lombardi 5 to 7 p.m.
No cover! Info: 541-549-2471.
Hardtails Bar & Grill
Karaoke Night 9 p.m. Every
Friday, no cover! For more
information call 541-549-6114
or go to hardtailsoregon.com.
SAT...JUNE 2
Cork Cellars Live Music
with the Allan Byer Project
7 to 9 p.m. No cover! For info
call 541-549-2675 or go online
to corkcellarswinebistro.com.
Sisters Saloon Live Music
with Abluestics 7 to 10 p.m.
No cover! For additional
information call 541-549-7427
or go to sisterssaloon.net.
Hardtails Bar & Grill
Karaoke Night 9 p.m.
Every Saturday, no cover! For
information call 541-549-6114
or go to hardtailsoregon.com.
SUN...JUNE 3
Sisters Saloon Open Mic
Night 8 to 10 p.m. Free, every
fi rst and third Sunday! 541-549-
7427 or go to sisterssaloon.net.
MON...JUNE 4
Hardtails Bar & Grill Open
Mic & Jam Night 7 p.m.
Every Monday, no cover! For
info call 541-549-6114 or go
online to hardtailsoregon.com.
Sisters Saloon Painting
Party 6 to 8 p.m. $35, every
Monday! 541-904-5280 or go
to sisterssaloon.net.
Hardtails Bar & Grill “After
Bulls” Rodeo Kickoff Party,
featuring Live Music with
Love and Theft 8 p.m. $10
in advance at Hardtails or
online at bendticket.com for
the popular Nashville duo! For
more info call 541-549-6114 or
go to hardtailsoregon.com.
Sisters Saloon Rodeo
After-Party & Live Music
with the Moon Mountain
Ramblers 8 p.m. to midnight.
No cover! For info call 541-549-
7427 or go to sisterssaloon.net.
The Belfry Americana
Project CD Release
Concert 7 p.m. Suggested
donation at the door is $15
adults, $10 youth to age 18
(no advance tickets). For more
information call the Sisters Folk
Festival offi ce at 541-549-4979.
Food Cart Garden at
Eurosports Trivia Night 6:30
to 7:30 p.m. Sign-up is at 6:15
p.m. Free, every Wednesday!
For info call 541-549-2471.
THURS...JUNE 7
Hardtails Bar & Grill Locals’
Night and Live Music with
the Rowdy Vegas Boys
8:30 p.m. in the party tent and
locals get in free! Ride the Bull!
For details call 541-549-6114 or
go to hardtailsoregon.com.
Sisters Saloon Live Music
with the Joe Slick Band
9 p.m. to 1 a.m. No cover! For
information call 541-549-7427
or go to sisterssaloon.net.
FRI...JUNE 8
Paulina Springs Books
Author Slideshow with Dan
Mathews 6:30 p.m. The
naturalist author presents
slides from his book,
“Natural History of the Pacifi c
Northwest Mountains.” Go to
paulinasprings.com for info.
Sisters Rodeo Grounds
Sisters Rodeo 7 p.m.
Reserved seating is $12, $14
and $17. Tickets at 541-549-
0121. For more details go
online to sistersrodeo.com.
Hardtails Bar & Grill Live
Music with the Rowdy
Vegas Boys 10 p.m. start of
music in the party tent after
the Rodeo, with Crown Royal
Girls on hand. Ride the Bull! For
more info call 541-549-6114.
Food Cart Garden at
Eurosports Live Music
TUES...JUNE 5
with Toothpick Shaker
Band 5 to 7 p.m. No cover!
Sisters Saloon Trivia Night
For more information call
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sign-up is at
Eurosports at 541-549-2471.
6:15 p.m. Free, every Tuesday!
Sisters Saloon
on Live Music
For info call 541-549-7427 or
go to sisterssaloon.net.
e Slick Band
with the Joe
9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
m.
No cover! For
WED...JUNE 6
additional
information
Sisters Rodeo Grounds
please call
Xtreme Bulls 6:30 p.m. $20
(kids 12 and younger free). 541- 541-549-7427
or go online to
o
549-0121 for tickets. For more
sisterssaloon.net.
et.
info go to sistersrodeo.com.
Events listings are free to advertisers. Submit items by
5 p.m. Fridays to teresa@nuggetnews.com