When there are so many movies showing at a film festival, it’s hard to decide which ones to see. However, Land of Plenty was an obvious choice from the outset, since it stars Karen’s favourite actress, Michelle Williams. Be warned, some spoilers follow.
After returning to America after years spent in Africa and the Middle East with her (deceased) missionary parents, Lana (Williams) sets out to find her uncle in order to pass on a letter from her mother. Lana finds work and accommodation at an LA mission operated by a friend of the family. Her uncle, Paul (John Diehl) turns out to be a paranoid Vietnam War veteran, who spends most of his time driving around in a surveillance vehicle staking out those he suspects to be terrorists. Hassan (Shaun Toub), a homeless Pakistani man whom Paul had been following, is killed in a drive-by shooting. Lana and Paul decide to track down Hassan’s family; she because she feels it isn’t right for Hassan to end up in an anonymous grave on the outskirts of LA (the fate of many a homeless John/Jane Doe) and he because he smells a terrorist plot. The ensuing journey is what makes this film worth seeing. In some ways Wim Wenders was brave to make this film because of the post-9/11 theme, which, although apparent throughout the entire film, is brought into sharp focus in its closing scenes. There are also some very funny moments in this movie, mostly featuring Paul and his military gadgets. One thing that could have made the film better in my opinion, is if the first half of the movie could have been shortened and the latter half expanded.
No doubt this film will be added to our DVD collection at some point, not just because of its Dawson’s Creek connection but because it’s a genuinely good movie.
