The Planters is not the kind of indie film that will turn many heads in a crowded cinematic marketplace, but it certainly should rank among those off-beat options worth turning to when the same-old, same-old fails to inspire, and more than makes a case for its creators as new artists to watch. Comment on this story at arts@indyweek.com. Her parents recently passed away—decapitated in a car accident, as it happens—and she’s desperately lonely. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window). All Rights Reserved. Sadie moves in with Martha, and the two young women—four, really—develop a very deep, very weird bond as the adventures begin. Support independent local journalism. The same can be said for Leder, who shows off fabulous range as Sadie, whose split personalities are fun but are never lingered on too long to detract from the story. Once you know what to expect from Leder and Kotcheff’s vision, their oddball humor casts a wicked spell on you as the laughs start tumbling out one after another.The Planters ranks #253 out of 5,481 movies on my Flickchart.The Planters is now playing in both selected theatres and virtual cinemas (Click here for listings) and will be available on home video and VOD December 8th. Still, my love of movies remain the backbone of my life. You might not know exactly where to laugh at first, but that’s part of its charm. Thomas Kotcheff (brother of Alexandra) delivers a fun and playful score that accentuates every scene and character to its full advantage, and the original songs by Phil Danyew range from funky to melancholy (“I Can’t Stand the Heat” is an absolute standout). (function(){for(var g="function"==typeof Object.defineProperties?Object.defineProperty:function(b,c,a){if(a.get||a.set)throw new TypeError("ES3 does not support getters and setters. Kotcheff is reclusive, air conditioner telemarketer Martha Plant. AFI Fest 2019 Review: The Planters It might not be the best movie ever made, but for two female filmmakers with no crew on set, it satisfies the audience with quirky humor and a knowing sense of completion. As Martha and Sadie get comfortable in each other’s lives, their world expands a bit with influences from a pastor who helped Sadie when she was first released and a connection with Richard (Phil Parolisi), a man Martha reached on one of her sales calls who eventually comes to meet her in person. Some of the other things I like to do in my spare time are playing Wii and even something as simple as organizing my movie collection. It’s a continuous cycle, until a vagrant literally runs into her life.The vagrant is Sadie Mayflower (Leder), a woman with split personalities who infiltrates Martha’s daily routine and claims to have visions of Jesus (courtesy of some sensational stop-motion animation that has to be seen to be believed). I hope to one day become a published film critic - if the job title is still available. //=a.length+e.length&&(a+=e)}b.i&&(e="&rd="+encodeURIComponent(JSON.stringify(B())),131072>=a.length+e.length&&(a+=e),c=!0);C=a;if(c){d=b.h;b=b.j;var f;if(window.XMLHttpRequest)f=new XMLHttpRequest;else if(window.ActiveXObject)try{f=new ActiveXObject("Msxml2.XMLHTTP")}catch(r){try{f=new ActiveXObject("Microsoft.XMLHTTP")}catch(D){}}f&&(f.open("POST",d+(-1==d.indexOf("?")?"? Your email address will not be published. Tags: 2020Alexandra KotcheffHannah LederPepe SernaPhil ParolisiThe Planters. At the same time, she manages to become a close friend as she inspires Martha to come out of her shell and get better at selling — she is on the cusp of being fired and must sell 30 air conditioners in two weeks to keep her job. ("naturalWidth"in a&&"naturalHeight"in a))return{};for(var d=0;a=c[d];++d){var e=a.getAttribute("data-pagespeed-url-hash");e&&(! In a way only a film as delightfully absurd as this one could manage, it all seems perfectly reasonable, and Martha takes it all in relative stride. Having seen it twice, it is even better the second time around. New Movies in Theaters: September 3, 2010, Review – King Arthur: Legend of The Sword, “The Sting” – Nathan’s Movie Challenge, Week 14. by Glenn McDonald. Yet its endearing eccentricities will make you … I have a BA in English from ASU and am currently looking for new work opportunities. A masterpiece in do-it-yourself filmmaking, The Planters is a fantastically quirky movie that might make you uncertain about what you saw at first. She has a random side hustle as a “planter,” putting objects in tins and burying them for others to come collect, leaving money in the tins in exchange. T… The story: Somewhere in the small desert towns of central California, Martha Plant (Kotcheff) is barely getting by as a work-from-home telemarketer. Both still in their mid-thirties, Kotcheff and Leder nevertheless make an assured debut with a film heavily influenced by Wes Anderson in both its visuals and dry tone. But Sadie isn’t as innocent as she seems, as Martha soon learns there’s a reason Sadie was in the mental institution: her multiple personalities, including a four-year-old girl who appears when Sadie feels too vulnerable or scared and a hard-edged vixen who shows up when Sadie needs defending or protecting. These added dimensions bring more chaos to Martha’s life than she’s maybe ready to handle, and when her buried treasures begin being returned with less and less money (and sometimes none at all), Martha has to figure out who in her new life is sabotaging her unique line of work. Leder, meanwhile, develops distinct characters for her multiple personalities. But there is something to be said about director-actor duo Alexandra Kotcheff and Hannah Leder, two brilliantly passionate women with an unending commitment to making an entire feature film without a single crew member on hand. You can find me on Flickchart as NicholasVargo, so feel free to add me as a friend if you like. When a nearby mental institution closes and releases its non-violent patients onto the streets, Martha takes in Sadie Mayflower (Leder), an angelic young woman who seems entirely incapable of harming anyone or anything thing. This authenticity parallels the movie’s making — the actors made it over the course of 127 days in and around Palm Springs, California. ":"&")+"url="+encodeURIComponent(b)),f.setRequestHeader("Content-Type","application/x-www-form-urlencoded"),f.send(a))}}}function B(){var b={},c;c=document.getElementsByTagName("IMG");if(!c.length)return{};var a=c[0];if(! In her spare time, she has a side gig stealing interesting items from the local thrift shop and burying them in tins for people to find. The wife of a rubber plantation owner must put her marriage problems on hold when her family is forced to defend themselves during a native uprising. The desert setting comes through so powerfully that you can feel the heat surrounding Martha, Sadie, and Richard. As a side gig, Martha has taken up “planting,” an entrepreneurial scheme where she buries trinkets in the desert, posts the GPS coordinates on flyers for local treasure hunters to find, then collects whatever cash they choose to leave as compensation. Their chemistry is excellent as their budding friendship blossoms throughout the story. Flickchart: The Blog © 2020. If mimicry is the highest compliment, the filmmaking duo does Anderson proud, establishing themselves as a new generation of artists who, like those before them, have their elders to thank for creative inspiration. Also unique to a film gleefully embracing its weirdness, Kotcheff and Leder weave a bit of whimsical stop-motion animation into the narrative; every time Sadie looks into one of Martha’s mysterious tins, she sees a biblical scene unfold, usually with herself included in claymation form. [CDATA[ It all adds up to something refreshingly original, even as their creative influences shine through. 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