Rednecks + Culchies (2016) User Reviews

I liked it

[etann-36707 · 7/10 · 19 September 2016]

A portrait of a man managing a business with a string of hard cases.

The human hearts unrelenting desire to help and the struggle with the minds knowledge that some just can't be helped.

Very good story telling but I knocked off a few points for poor video quality, some static and boring scenes that might have been better cut shorter, some of the employees stories could have been edited better.

I had some more artful ideas for presenting the documentary that would engage the viewer more.

Examples: One employee who's drunk and rambling through an interview and you see him slumped over in a wife-beater, arms full of tattoos. As a videographer I would have asked to shoot close footage of the tattoos, and show them as he's ranting. It would really give you that feeling like you're seeing a map of his life as he's describing the painful things he's gone through and seen. The overlay of the pain of tattoos and their imagery would have really made a powerful scene. He describes himself as of being Indian and he has a tattoo of an Indian on his arm, why not combine that imagery with his dialog?

Another example would be the guy who's describing all these tools/knives he uses when he goes hiking. I'd like to see some close-ups of the blades he's wielding and as he's talking you get a more intimate experience with what he's so proud to show off. Simple things like that would really pull you into the scene.

Just two examples of some flair that could have made the film more engaging. All put together it really felt like an apprentice was trying to paint a masterpiece, and they did have some masterpiece subject matter to work with, but they didn't really show what was truly on display here and that was the Irishman's big heart, his selfless acts were described many times in his stories and many times I'd felt great admiration for him but the lack of artful framing and story pacing just didn't do his story full justice.

The story alone gets 7/10, the losses in points are from not using the medium of film to paint a more vivid picture.

Overall a really good documentary.

Independent Contracting

[shughm · 6/10 · 29 August 2022]

Admittedly, I'm unfamiliar with construction crews in countries outside the US-but, ol' boy who made this should understand he's employing the nearly impoverished to do grunt work in a society without a social safety net. Of course we're desperate people; we're one illness, or one missed paycheck from homelessness or death.

This isn't confined to construction, either. You'll find it in most restaurants, retail shops, etc. Criticizing those people as a business owner, if done constructively, could be useful. But, it doesn't seem like a useful angle in the film. It comes across as whiny. The filmmaker seems to imagine he's a messianic figure, with his lackey as some pseudo-Paul?

It's good insight. But certainly not in the way the filmmaker intended. Can you imagine bragging about helping someone see their kid for Christmas, imagining yourself as a paragon of kindness; then you make a movie where you expose them as a thief with a substance abuse problem?

The ethics of the businessman are on display for all potential customers. Irish Construction proudly puts its stamp on this type of exploitation.