The Retrieval (2013)

On the outskirts of the U.S. Civil War, a boy is sent north by his bounty hunter gang to retrieve a wanted man.

Director:

Chris Eska

Writer:

Chris Eska

Stars:

Ashton Sanders, Tishuan Scott, Keston John

9 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ashton Sanders	...	Will
Tishuan Scott	...	Nate
Keston John	...	Marcus
Bill Oberst Jr.	...	Burrell
Christine Horn	...	Rachel
Alfonso Freeman	...	Isaac
Raven Nicole LeDeatte	...	Abby (as Raven LeDeatte)
Jonathan Brooks	...	Royce
Jody Stelzig	...	Chasing Cavalryman
Sam Pullin	...	Ryan
Eugene Smith	...	Store Clerk
Brenda Kuciemba	...	Abolitionist Woman
Charissa Jarrett	...	Runaway Slave
Richard Rashad Romeo III	...	Runaway Slave
Henry J. Smith III	...	Runaway Slave

Storyline

On the outskirts of the U.S. Civil War, a boy is sent north by his bounty hunter gang to retrieve a wanted man.

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Plot Keywords:

american civil war | boy | bounty hunter | civil war | violence | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 April 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

September Morning

Filming Locations:

Gonzales, Texas, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,683, 21 March 2014, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$50,257, 28 September 2014

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arts+Labor,Doki-Doki Productions,Sixth Street Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Will is going from man to man in Burrell's base camp serving beans, he slips something from the duster pocket of one of the men he serves (at 0:07:03). Closer examination on the DVD confirms it is the pair of cigarettes he then sells to the next man he serves. This 3 second act alerts the viewer to Will's moral compass.

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Goofs

At the very beginning of the movie, as the boy walks toward the cabin, there is a battle - obviously miles away - occurring over the hill. However, as soon as a flash occurs from a cannon fire there is the sound of the firing - sound travels slower than light, so you should first see the flash and then a time late the report of the discharge.

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Quotes

Nate: I saw you talkin to tat gal back there. Ever ad a gal o your own?
Will: No.
Nate: Don't. They trouble.
Will: Not all o em.
Nate: Yeaa, all o em
[5 second pause]
Nate: But they werth it.
Will: [smiles]

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Soundtracks

Winter
Written and Performed by Yellow 6
Courtesy of Jon Attwood

User Reviews

The Retrieval: a good film whose magic, however, didn't work on me.

It's a good film whose screenplay probably deserves a 9. While watching, however, I had the impression of a TV movie: unknown actors, poor locations, a non-original story… movie's magic, in other words, didn't work for me.

Dialogues are really good and acting is utterly convincing: Bill Oberst Jr in particular plays a perfect bad guy. But I never really believed the story or truly cared for characters' fate.

I read that Chris Eska both wrote and directed the movie (and even did the editing) and I can imagine how hard he worked on this production. Thus I feel quite guilty while writing these lines. Fortunately enough, my opinion is less than worthless and the chances that someone will read me lines (or agree with me) are less than for a camel (or a rope) to go through an average needle's eye…