Marketed as a heartwarming antiwar film with basketball and opera facets, "The Basket" is obviously a dream project for producer, director and co-writer Rich Cowan and is destined to find most of its audience in post-theatrical incarnations.
It's doubtful many moviegoing families will line up for the Privileged Communications limited release starring Peter Coyote as a schoolteacher wise in the ways of James Naismith's new game.
Set in the Pacific Northwest's inland wheat-growing region near Spokane, Wash., "The Basket" takes place in 1918, with the U.S. sending troops to fight in World War I and German war orphans brought to live here. Employing an opera created for the project by composer and co-screenwriter Don Caron, Cowan's ambitious agenda explores the prejudices and tragic consequences of the war for all involved.
But it's also a love story, an origin-of-basketball saga and multicharacter portrait of the times that would have given David Lean and Robert Bolt a good workout. Episodic and unabashedly nostalgic, "The Basket" rarely has a dull moment, with Cowan and team re-creating the crude beginnings of the sport and using splendid locations to pump up the visual element.
Alas, "The Basket" never soars to the grand movie heights it aims for -- the chief problems being the elementary screenplay and uneven performances. The ever-reliable Coyote as Martin Conlon, the new teacher bearing a Victrola (which, unbelievably, is greeted like some brand-new invention), clunky leather basketball and dark secrets destined to be revealed at the last possible moment, is the cast's only true all-star.
Robert Karl Burke and Amber Willenborg as the German brother and sister who work extra hard to overcome the bad attitudes of some of their new neighbors are nothing less than sincere, crummy accents and all. Karen Allen as the mother of three sons and wife of a German-hating, basketball team-snubbing farmer (Jock MacDonald) carries a big load as the go-between for the opposing factions.
Of course, the orphans are just kids who've gone through a tremendous trauma, but when one local Romeo goes after the girl, and the German boy turns out to be the best "goal tosser" for a team Conlon is putting together, "The Basket" goes off into drearily familiar directions. With tensions already high, Conlon further tests the locals' tolerance for German culture by playing for his students over many days an opera called "The Basket".
Hooked, these listeners start spreading the story of the opera, a mythical-sounding parable interpreted by Conlon as antiwar but which irks several adults in the community. Proving what a swell guy he is (but isn't really), Conlon offers to help the locals purchase a new harvester with the $500 they'll win if his newly recruited ragtag players beat a professional team from Spokane.
Never quite knowing when to quit, the story builds to a big finish that breezily wraps up all the conflicts. Even as a project for juveniles, "The Basket" is just too dang clunky for long stretches and overburdened with story elements.
The film's most entertaining scenes are the basketball practices and games, where the rudimentary skills of the players and primitive playing conditions result in a much slower pace and lower-scoring contests.
THE BASKET
Privileged Communications
North by Northwest Entertainment
Producer-director: Rich Cowan
Screenwriters: Don Caron, Rich Cowan,
Frank Swoboda, Tessa Swoboda
Executive producers: Marc Dahlstrom,
Dave Holcomb, Greg Rathvon, Dave Tanner
Director of photography: Dan Heigh
Production designer: Vincent De Felice
Music: Don Caron
Color/stereo
Cast:
Martin Conlon: Peter Coyote
Bessie Emery: Karen Allen
Helmut Brink: Robert Karl Burke
Brigitta Brink: Amber Willenborg
Tom Emery: Eric Dane
Nathan Emery: Brian Skala
Samuel Emery: Casey Cowan
Pastor Simms: Tony Lincoln
Running time -- 104 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
It's doubtful many moviegoing families will line up for the Privileged Communications limited release starring Peter Coyote as a schoolteacher wise in the ways of James Naismith's new game.
Set in the Pacific Northwest's inland wheat-growing region near Spokane, Wash., "The Basket" takes place in 1918, with the U.S. sending troops to fight in World War I and German war orphans brought to live here. Employing an opera created for the project by composer and co-screenwriter Don Caron, Cowan's ambitious agenda explores the prejudices and tragic consequences of the war for all involved.
But it's also a love story, an origin-of-basketball saga and multicharacter portrait of the times that would have given David Lean and Robert Bolt a good workout. Episodic and unabashedly nostalgic, "The Basket" rarely has a dull moment, with Cowan and team re-creating the crude beginnings of the sport and using splendid locations to pump up the visual element.
Alas, "The Basket" never soars to the grand movie heights it aims for -- the chief problems being the elementary screenplay and uneven performances. The ever-reliable Coyote as Martin Conlon, the new teacher bearing a Victrola (which, unbelievably, is greeted like some brand-new invention), clunky leather basketball and dark secrets destined to be revealed at the last possible moment, is the cast's only true all-star.
Robert Karl Burke and Amber Willenborg as the German brother and sister who work extra hard to overcome the bad attitudes of some of their new neighbors are nothing less than sincere, crummy accents and all. Karen Allen as the mother of three sons and wife of a German-hating, basketball team-snubbing farmer (Jock MacDonald) carries a big load as the go-between for the opposing factions.
Of course, the orphans are just kids who've gone through a tremendous trauma, but when one local Romeo goes after the girl, and the German boy turns out to be the best "goal tosser" for a team Conlon is putting together, "The Basket" goes off into drearily familiar directions. With tensions already high, Conlon further tests the locals' tolerance for German culture by playing for his students over many days an opera called "The Basket".
Hooked, these listeners start spreading the story of the opera, a mythical-sounding parable interpreted by Conlon as antiwar but which irks several adults in the community. Proving what a swell guy he is (but isn't really), Conlon offers to help the locals purchase a new harvester with the $500 they'll win if his newly recruited ragtag players beat a professional team from Spokane.
Never quite knowing when to quit, the story builds to a big finish that breezily wraps up all the conflicts. Even as a project for juveniles, "The Basket" is just too dang clunky for long stretches and overburdened with story elements.
The film's most entertaining scenes are the basketball practices and games, where the rudimentary skills of the players and primitive playing conditions result in a much slower pace and lower-scoring contests.
THE BASKET
Privileged Communications
North by Northwest Entertainment
Producer-director: Rich Cowan
Screenwriters: Don Caron, Rich Cowan,
Frank Swoboda, Tessa Swoboda
Executive producers: Marc Dahlstrom,
Dave Holcomb, Greg Rathvon, Dave Tanner
Director of photography: Dan Heigh
Production designer: Vincent De Felice
Music: Don Caron
Color/stereo
Cast:
Martin Conlon: Peter Coyote
Bessie Emery: Karen Allen
Helmut Brink: Robert Karl Burke
Brigitta Brink: Amber Willenborg
Tom Emery: Eric Dane
Nathan Emery: Brian Skala
Samuel Emery: Casey Cowan
Pastor Simms: Tony Lincoln
Running time -- 104 minutes
MPAA rating: PG...
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