Homeland Insecurity

"The three films together are a little less then 70 minutes and it definitely left me wanting more. He has a great eye for finding the odd in the everyday, and narrating in a prose that reminds me of CBC's Wiretap. If you are a fan of documentaries, or unique filmmaking Bill Brown is definitely one to watch."

"Three films by Bill Brown. The first 15:00 minutes, Hub City, is a brilliant, moody, mesmerizing, stark, and often stunning piece of audio-visual poetry about Brown's hometown, Lubbock Texas. He perfectly taps into that strange timelessness certain rural areas exude, and further goes on to capture the surreal effect one gets when mixing that with more modern things like doppler radar and UFO sightings, and then mixing in the longing, quiet solitude of the landscape. Absolutely outstanding. The middle film is a music video. The third film, The Other Side, 43:00 minutes, was shot on a 2000 mile journey along the U.S.-Mexico border. Filmed on both sides of the border, this avoids the pitfall of making an overt political statement and focuses instead on the often overlooked circumstance that between the U.S. and Mexico there is a third culture that has always been there. There are whole landscapes of people who cross the street from one country to the other to buy milk and eggs. While it doesn't give answers to current issues, it sure makes you think."

All three films are pretty good, shot in 16mm and have a visual mood to them you might not expect. It is so compelling that you forget you are watching video by the simple fact that there are no flaws typical of video or HD. The use of block style is very good too. The [sound] is better than many films we have heard lately. This is a solid set overall filmmakers and film lovers will want to see.

Generally an Indie film maker will go through the effort of making a film simply because he can, and not for a huge pay cheque which is merely compensation from a capitalist venture for helping to portray their views. For this Bill Brown certainly deserves credit. It is my opinion that Bill Brown is a talented film maker, he has a skilled eye for camera angle, and a nice way of tackling his subjects. Bill Brown takes viewers with him on a journey along the borders, and documents everything along the way. It's an interesting concept and his unique style of film making adds to the overall feel. It is the second short documentary that stands out more than the rest. Beautifully shot, with no spoken words.. a real elegant nod to a great talent. Bill Brown's style is easy going, and his non judgmental approach is admirable.

Brown shoots Mexico as a splintery shadow land of haunting horrors and winking visions, a miracle mirage zone with phantom lights in the skies, the Blessed Virgin peeping out of wasted trees, hoops of rainbow light, like halos with no angels to hang them on, the smudged crayon charm and desperation of Christ graffitti on adobe convenience stores and saguaros stretching, like scarecrow giants, over a dreaming desert both mystical and miserable.