True/False Films

Knee Deep
Dir. Michael Chandler; 2007; 81 min.
Saturday, Mar. 1 / 7:00PM / Little Ragtag

In person: director Michael Chandler.

Josh Osborne has spent much of his life in the seat of a tractor. Pulled from school at age 10, Josh's parents sacrificed his childhood for the 80-hour weeks of a farmer's life. So it was no surprise that Josh, now a grown man, was enraged when his mother told him she was going to sell the farm — which he figured he'd be running for the rest of his life — to a real-estate developer. But did he go too far when he tried to murder her? His neighbors didn't think so; most just wish he had better aim. Michael Chandler's film has the breadth of a Truman Capote novel, a tale of intrigue and deep emotional currents that broadens our understanding of American identity. Add a cast of colorful characters and a culture-wide crisis — the dying of the American small farm — and Knee Deep makes for compelling viewing. (JS)