Blue Bus
 OVERVIEW
Language: English
Country of Origin: USA
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Medium: HD
Rights: all currently available
CAST & CREW
Director: Philip Scarpaci
Director of photography : Stuart Asbjornsen
Producer: Patty Kelly, Darren Anderson
Editor: Chris Worland
Story By :Jacob Scarpaci, Kerrie Scher
Cast: Ron Recasner, Philip Scarpaci, Lisa Thomassie, Tabitha Reynolds, Marty Hileman
Street musicians :Elliot Small, Rene Tenada, Big Mama Sunshine
Producer's Representative: Ostrow and Company
REVIEW
". . .A breath of pure oxygen in an age of cinematic smog."
- IMDB.com
". . .A film that has its own distinctive voice and has something substantive to say about the importance of one of our best assets in life, our friends."
- IMDB.com
"I am not sure who I was rooting for more; the guys or the bus. I found myself laughing out loud, singing out loud, and just thoroughly enjoying myself."
- IMDB.com
". . .Insightful and delightful from start to finish."
- IMDB.com
It's been four days since BendFilm wrapped up, but there's been one film that's been sticking with me since. The film is called Blue Bus, and well, I can't stop thinking about it. I figured maybe writing about it would shake it free. The story is that of two men traveling from Los Angeles to New Orleans in a 1968 Volkswagen bus, as mandated by a recently deceased friend, who in addition to gifting the bus, has also provided the men with a box they're instructed not to open until reaching the Crescent City. What ensues is a cross-country romp that relies almost solely on the back-and-forth between the two men. Ron Recasner, who plays Auggie, dishes out one incredible story (many of them actual tales of the actor's own experiences) after another and laughing along through the film is director Phil Scarpaci, who proves delightfully hilarious in the role of Joseph, a seemingly successful businessman.
We see this story through a largely grainy, documentary-style view that provides a strangely unique cinematic perspective. You know this isn't a documentary, because, well, the festival schedule said so, but the interaction between Auggie and Joseph is so authentic and their emotions so real that the line between narrative and reality melts away about halfway through.
Walking out of the film, there was a lot going through my head, and I couldn't stop thinking about how incredible friendships can be. Sappy? Slightly. . .or incredibly so, but the film really gets you in the heart and in the gut. And you laugh, too. That's always important. When I met Recasner and Scarpaci outside the bar on Saturday night, they weren't the men from the film - but still pretty damn nice guys who didn't mind talking about their film for a few minutes.
-Mike Bookey The Source Weekly Bend, Oregon
The Blue Bus (Directed by Philip Scarpaci) I can't say enough good things about this movie. It's a feel-good-under-any-circumstance flick as a pair of friends figure a way to end their midlife (or three-quarter life) crises by taking a road trip to New Orleans. The rapport between the two leads (Scarpaci and Ron Recasner) is phenomenal, fueled by their real-life friendship and ability to convey honesty on camera.
-Morgan P. Salvo The Source Weekly Bend, Oregon
Augie and Joe take off on a cross-country road trip in a battered blue Volkswagen bus. Their end destination: New Orleans. Their mission: to deliver a mysterious sealed wooden box left to Augie by a dead friend. En-route, their friendship enters a new phase as each man delves into his past and confronts his flaws, regrets, hopes and long-forgotten aspirations. Blue Bus is that rare vehicle - a film about loyalty and the willingness to go the extra mile that avoids cloying messages of sentiment. Instead, it embraces looking forward and advocates what all of us secretly know: that nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. With heartfelt performances, improvised dialogue, deliberately cramped camerawork (how else does one film two men inside a bus?) and two perfectly-matched leads in Recasner and director/actor Scarpaci, this emerges as one of the most engaging indie projects in years. And as our aging heroes butt heads during a journey to revelation, so the tension and suspense gently builds as they chug steadily to Louisiana: what’s in the box?
-National Media Museum Bradford, UK
SYNOPSIS
Sixty-eight year old August Dupree is in a rut. A big one. He's in Act Three of his life, not knowing and honestly not caring if there is going to be an Act Four. One afternoon, he discovers a ramshackle old blue Volkswagen bus has been dropped off in his driveway. Inside, he finds a sealed wooden box and a letter from an old childhood friend who has recently died. The letter instructs him to take the bus and the box on a road trip from Los Angeles to New Orleans. Bound by his friend's last dying wish and without opening the box, "Augie" convinces another close friend to take the road trip with him to New Orleans, the city he left when he was just seventeen years old, never to return, until now.
What transpires is their adventure on the road, a "buddy flick" if you will, that actually develops into a coming of age story for two middle aged guys - one who has run from his past his entire life and the other, a Peter Pan character who has never really grown up. With a background of the great American landscape on the road and the rich vibes and textures of New Orleans, "Blue Bus" takes Augie and Joey on a journey of discovery and an adventure that will change their lives forever. |
