Gal Young Un (1979) User Reviews

Interesting movie from a long long time ago about a time even longer ago

[thejdrage · 8/10 · 9 June 2022]

This is a 1979 movie but it's about the lives of some folks in rural Florida in the 20s - 1920s.

The director LOVES closeups - too much for my taste, but he certainly had the right actress for it in Dana Preu.

The story is slow, so do not watch if you want any action. It just isn't there. The only action is watching Matt (the woman) grow and change after she gets married to a rather unsavory character. I kept rooting for her to grow a pair!! (In between closeups.)

The Gal Young Un character was wonderful in her naivety.

The star of the film, for me, was Kitty. That cat was a BRILLIANT actor!! Holy Cow! I'd love to know how they got him to do what he did - which was being an absolutely cool cat. Kitty gave the film an extra star.

Again, this movie is a slow pace, like the south in summer. Watch it to see some interesting characters and to meet Mattie, Trax (BOO!!) and Elly. Oh, don't forget Kitty. You can't forget Kitty.

Enjoy, ya all.

An account of loneliness in prohibition era America

[PimpinAinttEasy · 7/10 · 19 September 2016]

The best thing about this film is that there are no close ups of people with epic expressions on their faces. There is also no phony epic piano music that is supposed to make us feel a certain way. The way of life in 1920s America and the atmosphere are not foregrounded to create a certain effect. The actors do not look like typical Hollywood actors. Everything is subtle and minimized.

If you enjoyed films like Cockfighter (by Monte Hellman) you might enjoy this film. But fans of over directed films like Ain't Them Bodies Saints are advised to stay away.

Gal Young Un is a tale of loneliness and life on a farm during the prohibition era in America. A lonely old woman falls for a crooked young bootlegger and takes him into her farm. The young man takes her for a ride, using her land to manufacture alcohol and also bringing other women into the old woman's house after he becomes a rich bootlegger. The film perfectly evokes the idyllic life on a farm and the vagaries of human nature.

A large portion of the character's interactions in the film take place during breakfast or lunch or dinner. It is over food that the battles and reconciliations are played out.

I am surprised Dana Preu (who plays the old woman) did not act in more films. Mattie Siles is kind, homely, loyal and lonely and these characteristics are evoked by Dana Preu without seeming to put in much effort. The pretty J. Smith-Cameron is the other woman with whom Mattie has to get along with. David Peck as the crooked bootlegger was a bit unremarkable.

Worth looking for

[rhopkins · 9/10 · 3 April 1999]

This movie was shown at a small film festival in Tallahassee (home of Victor Nunez) a year or two ago. It won't be easy to find but it's worth it. The gorgeous North Florida backwoods settings faithfully evoke the look of the 20s, when the story is set. The original story, by Marjorie Rawlings, is just unpredictable enough to be a lot of fun. The production quality is adequate -- I found the sound design occasionally jarring -- but is better than a lot of recent 'independent' films....

Typo, and other observations

[briefcase119 · 18 May 2006]

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings was the author of this short story. Victor Nunez specializes in films about Florida people. In this film, which was shot in the piney woods near Gainesville-Ocala, many of the actors are expatriots from the Florida State Theatre troupe, The Hippodrome Theatre, in Gainesville. The historic interiors are authenticated by interpretation specialists of the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Home Historic Site, and the exteriors are also accurate to the place and time of the story. I cannot confirm the automobiles as accurate, but given the care for authenticity in other regards, these are probably accurate as well.