Wisconsin Death Trip (1999)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

James Marsh

Writers:

Michael Lesy (book)
James Marsh (writer)

Release Date:

9 March 2000 (Denmark)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Wisconsin Death Trip is an intimate, shocking and sometimes hilarious account of the disasters that...

Plot Keywords:

Newspaper | Wisconsin | Death | 1890s | Murder

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Ian Holm	...	Narrator (voice)
Jeffrey Golden	...	Editor (as Jeff Golden)
Jo Vukelich	...	Mary Sweeney
Marcus Monroe	...	Young Anderson
Marilyn White	...	Pauline L'Allemand
John Schneider	...	Asylum Clerk / Whispering Voice
John Baltes	...	Undertaker
Raeleen McMillion	...	Crying Woman
Krista Grambow	...	Mourning Woman
Clay Anton	...	Eloping Couple (male)
Bobby Jo Westphal	...	Eloping Couple (female)
Zeke Dasho	...	Edgar L'Allemand
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kathryn Anderson	...	Mrs. Larson
Kevin Anderson	...	Larson Child
Liam Anderson	...	Larson Child
Molly Anderson	...	Mrs. Larson
Nathan Butchart	...	Dead Boy
Angel Hamilton	...	Fire Girl
Ali Ide	...	Winter Bride
Brittany Istre	...	Baptized Girl
Marc Jacobs	...	Hanging Man
Dana Joseph	...	Girl at Window
Joshua Kapp	...	Baby
Eddie Kunz	...	Abandoned Boy
Cody Marenes	...	Boy
Tyler Marenes	...	Running Boy
Tess Miller	...	Coffin Girl
Braden Moran	...	Husband
Michael Olson	...	Asylum Guard
Emily Roske	...	Sister
Will Roske	...	9 Year Old Shooter
Clayton Simchick	...	Hanging Man (as Clay Simchick)
Debbi Sommi	...	Servant Girl
Jeana Stillman	...	Drowned Girl
Steven Strobel	...	Union Man
M. Scott Taulman	...	The Jailer

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Black River Falls, Wisconsin, USA

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Trivia:

Broadcast in the UK as part of the BBC's prestigious "Arena" (1975) series.

Soundtrack:

Traumerei

See this film if you think the world is going to pot; you'll realize it's always been there.

Although this is a documentary (taken from a book of the same title that was quite popular in the '70s), it doesn't feel like one. It doesn't feel like a movie either, so I don't know what you'd call it. But one thing I can say is that it is morbidly fascinating.

It is narrated by Ian Holmes, the only recognizable name associated with the film, reading news excerpts from a small, northern Wisconsin town's newspaper from the late 1800s. The occurrences are sometimes funny, often tragic, and unsettlingly bizarre. You have to remember that there was a very small population in the area at that time (the area is still not heavily populated), so the number of odd goings-on is curious. These occurrences have even more impact because they are juxtaposed with the very wholesome image that Wisconsin has always possessed (it seems whenever a movie wants to present wholesomeness, they set it in Wisconsin) as well as the beautiful vocabulary and syntax used in written documentation at that time. The documentary is also British, which ads another element to it--somehow I think they find it even more fascinating and that comes through in the presentation.

So, Ian Holmes reads the articles and we are shown photos from the period (sometimes they are the real people being discussed, but not always) and re-enactments of the crimes (they are mostly crimes), mishaps, or misfortunes. Infrequently, current-day footage is used, which I have read as a criticism, but which I think is misguided (see below).

The strongest thing I came away with from this documentary is that human nature is consistent, no matter what the era. The crimes and occurrences committed in and around this small Wisconsin town in the late 1800s are the same crimes that are being committed everywhere today. There are classic obsession crimes (i.e., a man asked a woman to marry him, she said no, he went to her house and shot her and then himself), classic sociopathic crimes, classic abuse cases, etc. I think the modern-day footage helps to bring this message home. But, there are also some

REALLY kooky things too, which are a blast. Look for the teacher who likes to travel by train. . . .

See this film if you think the world is going to pot; you'll realise its always been there.