Bootleg Wisconsin
D: Brandon Linden; with Lepolion Henderson, Angela Harris, Alissa Bailey, Joyce Porter
Attention creates silence – when people are interested, they grow silent in order to absorb with every sense. But also, silence creates attention – when someone speaks to us softly, we tend to listen harder, try to pay more attention. In Linden’s first feature film, which is set in Pleasant Prairie, Wis., known from Chicago to Milwaukee for its excellent outlet shopping, silence speaks the loudest. Bootleg Wisconsin is the story of Billy, a young man who works at an outlet store and is exploring the effects his newfound faith has on his life, and Katherine, a schoolteacher from Chicago who is spending her summer vacation shopping. The two meet and befriend one another, yet we never hear them speak to each other more than 10 minutes total. The strength of their relationship is portrayed through silence. The film is simple. No special effects, no outrageous drama. It’s a look into the lives of everyday people living in Pleasant Prairie and their relationship to the outsiders who continuously flow into and out of their town.
Thursday, March 13, 1:30pm, Dobie
This article appears in March 14 • 2008.