It is 1933, and just after laying his father to rest, Stratton Eiseley watches, defeated, as the bank reclaims the family ranch. Bereft and alone, he meets Joe Running Elk, and has an idea that inspires Joe and his grandfather Flying Bear to make a living with him in the mountains. As the three find new purpose, Stratton meets the captivating Gracie Loren and falls deeply in love. It appears their fates have dramatically changed for the better, but when a corrupt sheriff pursues the group, it leads to dangerous consequences, altering their lives forever.
In this ‘intimate epic’, we lay the social mores of the modern world against the wild justice of Montana. Though set over 75 years ago, our story has a timely relevance. Since the recession began, many of us have had to rethink our lives, and what’s important to us. When faced with losing much of what we hold dear, it is certain we will emerge from the experience forever changed… but for better or worse? This story addresses that question.
Being dealt a blank slate feels like an overwhelming burden to Stratton, until he realizes he’s been granted the ultimate freedom to remake his life. In time Stratton lets go of who he was in order to be reborn; he truly starts over. Flying Bear tells the story of the Bear People who were shape-shifters and great healers; they could bring the dead back to life. This is indicative of the Indian philosophy that life is cyclical; on the other side of death is birth. Destruction, painful as it is, is only the first step in the process of new growth.
The blessing in tragedy, this is THE LAST BEYOND.
THE INSPIRATION
The Great Depression fascinates us artistically because it is inherently dramatic. Setting characters in times of upheaval, their inner lives are never far from the surface. They face big questions about their identity and place in the world.
DIRECTORIAL APPROACH
My approach was personal: a view of the times through the characters’ eyes. It is one man’s memory of this seminal period in his life… stylistically defined by dramatic lighting, big landscapes, the gritty textures of rural America… the awe of nature. What motivates me as a filmmaker is my fascination with showing the subjective experience of reality. We all create for ourselves a world to inhabit; every perception is an act of creation. The world that I see is very different from the world that you or the next person sees. Because of this, I am always interested in dreams, the subconscious, where the physical ends and the spiritual begins.
In bookending the film with an abstract spiritual sequence, I wanted to draw audiences into the realm of dreams and memories, to transcend what we know. I sought to make the film a healing ceremony itself, during which its characters are spiritually reborn, and for the audience to experience the ceremonial transformation of Stratton’s identity. We all have our own mythologies that are created out of dramatic turning points in our lives. Sometimes we share these with others; sometimes they are secrets we keep deep within us. This film shares with the audience this one man’s personal mythology.
