COWBOY DEL AMOR
D: Michèle Ohayon
Documentary Feature Competition
No one can tame Eros, but it can be corralled, coaxed, and cultivated. That’s what Ivan Thompson, the Cowboy Cupid, believes. With a West Texas twang, gringo Spanish, and a wry sense of humor, this unconventional matchmaker sets up U.S. men with Mexican women, disillusioned with their choices South of the border. Comparing his work to trading horses or going fishing, it would be easy to despise Thompson as a lowdown sexist pig out to make a buck from desperate men who find American women “too hard to please.” That’s not entirely absent – even if Ohayon steers away from a direct critique of gender and cultural politics – because Thompson understands loneliness. He’s pleased to end that suffering for his clients, while determined to find good women worthy mates. And, dang it, he’s so gosh darn likable. Even the most intractable feminist will find a soft spot for this wily love trader.Cowboy del Amor received both the Jury and Audience awards for Documentary Feature at the SXSW Film 05 awards.
Austin Convention Center, 2pm
This article appears in March 18 • 2005.