This was a title I remembered very well having heard about it numerous times from the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, it was rated average by critics, but I was looking forward to it nonetheless, directed by Robert J. Flaherty (Nanook of the North). Basically it follows the adventures of a young Cajun boy (Joseph Boudreaux) and his pet raccoon, living in the somewhat idyllic bayous of Louisiana. His elderly father (Lionel Le Blanc) is allowing an oil company to drill for oil in the inlet that runs behind their house, a completely assembled miniature oil rig is being towed on a slender barge. The boy comes into conflict with a giant alligator, he hunts the reptile, believing is has eaten his pet raccoon, besides this the only incident is a moment of crisis when the rig strikes a gas pocket. This potential disaster is dealt with, and the floating derrick and friendly drillers depart expeditiously, leaving behind a phenomenally clean environment and a wealthy Cajun family. Also starring E. Bienvenu as the boy's mother, Frank Hardy as the driller and C.P. Guedry as the boilerman. This film is often mistaken as a documentary, the events and characters are fictional, it recruited non-professionals to tell the story, therefore it is docufiction. There is not much dialogue, the action mostly takes place on the river and on the oil drilling platform, there is little action besides the fight with the alligator, but it is nice simple viewing, with beautiful scenery, and only a little industry stuff, a fairly interesting classic documentary drama. It won the BAFTA for Best Documentary Film, and it was nominated the Oscar for Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. Worth watching!
Review of Louisiana Story
