Gold Mountain (2016)

GOLD MOUNTAIN is a fun film. It's lean, simply plotted, and is full of colorful characters and comedic gags. If you're a fan of any of the masters of silent comedy (Keaton, Chaplin, etc.), you will no doubt find something to enjoy about this movie. With GOLD MOUNTAIN, director Michael Fredianelli does a solid job recreating the aesthetic and overall feel of a real silent movie. He shoots in the square framed "Academy Ratio", applies a sepia tint, and amps up the action with those blitzkrieg fast frame rates. Furthermore, Fredianelli does a great job replicating the era's astonishing achievements in visual effects while also having fun incorporating some of the cruder aspects of silent movie production. While it's worth saying that some of the jukeboxy music isn't as effective as the pure orchestration picks, GOLD MOUNTAIN's public domain music score is a natural fit. The costumes and makeup help to create a pretty good facsimile for a 1920s "reel" American Old West. In fact, the production values shine to the point that we actually get to see a legit old fashioned railway station with locomotives in action! Only nitpick on the wardrobe/prop department are the modern aviator eyeglasses one character wears which would have been out of place in the silent film era never mind the real Old West. Still, this particular character looks so appropriately goofy (and creepy) with them on that it can be overlooked. In sum, GOLD MOUNTAIN is a hell of a good time at the movies! It's a good example of the kind of quality product a small group of people can make with just a fistful of Dollars and a passion for cinema.