Six Reasons Why
Six Reasons Why is a 2008 American Western film directed by The Campagna Brothers.[1] It stars Daniel Wooster as the Nomad, a vigilante sent into the badlands by a preacher (Colm Feore). He wanders the Badlands with his horse, killing every stranger he meets. Christopher Harrison plays an orphaned entrepreneur who is trying to cross the Badlands along with his indentured servant the Sherpa, played by Mads Koudal.[2]
| Six Reasons Why | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | The Campagna Brothers |
| Written by | The Campagna Brothers |
| Starring | Colm Feore Dan Wooster Chris Harrison Mads Koudal Jeff Campagna |
| Cinematography | Matt Campagna |
| Edited by | The Campagna Brothers |
| Distributed by | THINKFilm (US) Entertainment One (Canada) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $12,000[1] |
The film was in development during 2005 while the Campagna Brothers toured their previous film across Europe and America. It was shot in the summer of 2006, primarily around the desert town of Drumheller, Alberta.[1] The Campagna Brothers presented the film at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, which brought it to the attention of Entertainment Tonight, raising the film's profile to a national level. It was at TIFF that the 'Six Reasons Why' was discovered by a distributor and the $12,000 film was sold to Thinkfilm in a quarter million dollar bidding war.[1]
Six Reasons Why was commercially released in Canada in August 2007 both as a DVD and theatrically.[1]
Plot
Four men stand staring one another down before a shootout. In a flashback one of the gunslingers, The Nomad, shows he shot a man in the Badlands named Milton while he is describing a vision of paradise just beyond the dunes. The Nomad loots through Milton's remains before camping for the night. That night the Nomad dreams of the preacher who sent him into the desert to protect a mysterious city, reminding him to make sure the horse is looked after. The Nomad wakes up realizing that the horse is more important to the mission than he is, and that he was never to see his home again. Rather than kill the next desert intruder, The Nomad conspires with him in faking his own death, which causes the horse to head home, tracked and followed by the Nomad. After the deal is struck, the Nomad goes to stop two more intruders entering the badlands. Now knowing his horse is actually an enemy, The Nomad takes a liking to the two strangers, The Entrepreneur and The Sherpa and chooses to stay with them. After a day of travel and a congenial dinner, they fall sleep around the fire. The Nomad again dreams of the preacher and his warnings. When the Nomad wakes up he finds his horse has vanished. Believing the two new strangers are responsible, he attacks them and ties them up for questioning. He finally realizes the culprit must have been the shady stranger from the day before.
Back at the 4-way shootout the tension is building as guns are drawn. The Entrepreneur's flashback shows him standing at a river with his father, discussing the opening of a new monorail station that is currently under construction, leading into the desert Badlands. The next morning the Entrepreneur's father is assassinated by The Criminal, who flees into the desert. That evening, The Entrepreneur and his servant, The Sherpa, are drinking at a bar when a loudmouth begins insulting The Entrepreneur's father's memory. The Entrepreneur drunkenly beats the patron to death with his pistol. Once he and The Sherpa realize he would be arrested for the crime, they flee into the desert to chase down his father's assassin.
Once again, back at the shootout the Entrepreneur reaches for his pistol. This time, the Criminal's flashback shows he was hired to kill the Monorail Tycoon, which he does before fleeing in to the desert. He meets the Nomad, who spares his life so he can fake his own death and leave the Badlands. The Criminal agrees to a deal and consents to meet up with the Nomad in two days. Later, The Criminal spots The Nomad at a campfire with the son of his last kill. He assumes he has been betrayed and steals the horse.
Returning to the 4-way shootout, six gunshots are heard and each man falls to the ground, leaving the horse still standing. After the sun begins to set, one man stirs, gets up and follows the horse home.[2]
Cast and characters
Daniel Wooster plays The Nomad: A ruthless killer, trained from birth in an elite school for children who compete against one another in the survival of the fittest, until a champion remains. This champion is set into the Badlands with only a horse as his companion, until his eventual death, when the horse then returns for the next champion. The Nomad discovers the pattern that will leave him dying in the desert and plots to find his own way back home.[2]
Christopher Harrison plays The Entrepreneur: Orphaned by The Criminal and left with nothing but vengeance and a need to prove himself. With the death of his father, he has no power in the Monorail company and only the Sherpa is still loyal to him. He plans to build the next station for the Monorail in the Badlands.[2]
Mads Koudal plays The Sherpa: Saved at a young age by the Entrepreneur's father and given employment to work off his debts, he has become a loyal and caring friend of The Entrepreneur. Where one goes, so does the other, and as a team they urge one another on.[2]
Colm Feore plays The Preacher: The leader of a xenophobic city west of the deadly Badlands, he presides over the treacherous training of the champions who he sends out as protectors of their secret.[2]
Jeff Campagna plays The Criminal: The assassin of many officials, including the Entrepreneur's father, he exiles himself to an abandoned coal mine where he conducts business on his own terms. Originally an aristocrat himself, he was discovered to be a rebel and was tortured by the government. He detests authority, and enjoys his job to a fault.[2]
Romas Stanulis plays The Zeppelin Scout: An employee of H2 Zeppelin the chief rival corporation to the Monorail. He is killed by the Entrepreneur when he starts mouthing off about the father of The Entrepreneur.[2]
Geoff Kolomayz plays The Barkeep: As the owner of the only bar in New Gibraltar, he's got a monopoly on the entertainment and drink, which means he gets most of the trouble in his establishment. He tries to keep the violence to a minimum, but sometimes has to pay off the local law to look the other way.[2]
Matt Campagna plays Milton Joyce: The latest in a long line of trespassers in the Badlands, Milton is looking for a prosperous lifestyle, and he believes he can find it west of the Badlands. His journey comes to an abrupt end when he encounters The Nomad.[2]
References
- Irene Kuan (2008-09-18). "Canadian filmmakers hit their target with indie western". Reuters Canada. Retrieved 2008-09-19.
- SixReasonsWhy.com