海角大神

Filmmaker and director Kate Beecroft met Tabatha Zimiga after taking a wrong turn in South Dakota. She was looking for interesting stories to tell when she learned of the tattooed, cash-strapped rancher and her cadre of teen cowgirls who excel at rodeo and training the cast-off horses they hawk on TikTok. Ms. Zimiga, who carried on after losing her husband to suicide, struck Ms. Beecroft as a portrait of resilience. The director lived on the ranch for three years, capturing their stories on film. She sees 鈥淓ast of Wall鈥� as all her 鈥渇avorite bits鈥� of Ms. Zimiga combined.

鈥淪he鈥檚 one of the most intelligent women I鈥檝e ever known and she鈥檚 incredibly instinctual,鈥� says Ms. Beecroft in an interview. 鈥淣one of these horses were movie horses. ... If I needed the horse to do something like a stunt or ride bridleless or whatnot, Tabby did the training herself.鈥�

Ms. Beecroft cast Jennifer Ehle (鈥淶ero Dark Thirty,鈥� 鈥淧ride and Prejudice鈥�), who portrays Ms. Zimiga鈥檚 protective mother; and Scoot McNairy (鈥淎 Complete Unknown,鈥� 鈥淎rgo鈥�) as a fictional Texas rancher offering to buy Ms. Zimiga out. Local actors 鈥� and horses 鈥� all play themselves against the breathtaking landscape of the Badlands. Some of the scenes are scripted and some are improvised, creating an engrossing depiction of the new American West. Ms. Beecroft, Ms. Zimiga, and her daughter, Porshia, spoke with the Monitor via Zoom about their experiences making the film. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

鈥淓ast of Wall鈥� has been described as a docufiction. What are the advantages you gain from mixing fictional and nonfictional elements in a feature film?

Kate Beecroft: I met Tabatha and her family, and I thought they were such compelling human beings 鈥� people that I wanted to see represented on film for so long. ... So I lived with them and crafted a script from moments they鈥檝e shared with me, and also moments that we experienced together. ...

Documentary fiction is an incredibly collaborative medium. It was really important to me that these women have their fingerprints on this film as much as possible. So I was constantly asking them, 鈥淲hat do you think of this scene? How would you rewrite this? How would you shoot this moment of your life?鈥�

How does docufiction help audiences connect with people from different backgrounds?

Kate Beecroft: People are really excited about new forms of storytelling. ... We are desperately in need of more empathy in this world right now. We need more of the strength of women now more than ever. So to be able to showcase that in this film is very special.

鈥淓ast of Wall鈥� won an audience award at Sundance. What has been the most memorable feedback you鈥檝e received?

Kate Beecroft: It was overwhelming. Right after we do a screening and then there鈥檚 women of all ages, even grown men, coming up ... with tears in their eyes. It鈥檚 either their mother, [or] the strength that they鈥檝e always seen in women, but they don鈥檛 see it on film. ... People are like, well, I need my daughter to see this. ... I loved being able to depict feral, wild teenage girls because you don鈥檛 see that in film. And so to be able to have that, I think a lot of people resonated that with their own kids.

The stereotypical cowboy is portrayed as a lone, rugged individual who fights against all odds. What do you hope 鈥淓ast of Wall鈥� teaches viewers about the new American West?

Kate Beecroft: To see what Tabby goes through on a day-to-day basis is pretty remarkable, and I have nothing but respect for it. And it鈥檚 also exciting for the new West to have the face of women because, yes, there is a romanticized resurgence of cowboy films right now, but they鈥檙e all told through the voices of men. ... Tabatha has this harder exterior because of what she鈥檚 had to go through. But when she鈥檚 the most vulnerable, I find her the strongest. So for her to be able to figure out how to ... show it on the screen ... just blows me away.

Tabatha Zimiga: When you come to my ranch, you鈥檙e going to see women branding and women dragging calves out to the fire. They cover every job.

Porshia, how did you learn to trust Bingo, a 16-year-old quarter horse, to keep you safe when you run him at speeds of 45 m.p.h.?

Porshia Zimiga: Well, I鈥檝e had him for 11 years. My grandpa gave him to me after he bucked him off. There鈥檚 just a special bond between me and him. And that鈥檚 where our trust comes from.

Tabatha Zimiga: That horse was very difficult, though. ... I remember first putting her on him and then thinking, 鈥淭his is such a bad idea, he鈥檚 running with her.鈥� There was a few times she didn鈥檛 get him stopped, but they survived the ordeal. ... He loves Porshia. They鈥檙e best friends.

Tabatha, what did you learn about your daughter through this project?

Tabatha Zimiga: I鈥檝e watched Porshia really grow. ... [Acting] is something new, you know, she鈥檚 always rode horses and had the Western part of her life. But to watch your kid develop something else that they鈥檙e really good at and to watch her learn something like this and know that she has a future in trying something like this ... it鈥檚 going to be really awesome to see.

Kate Beecroft: The first time I ever showed Tabby a little clip of Porshia鈥檚 voiceover ... [she was] holding back tears because, yeah, it鈥檚 emotional to watch your child grow up. It鈥檚 even emotional for me. ... She blew me away with the wisdom in her voice. It was like we were both proud moms.

What do you hope viewers will carry away with them after seeing 鈥淓ast of Wall鈥�?

Kate Beecroft: I think people need to take more of a risk when creating art. We鈥檙e in a place where we鈥檙e constantly doing the same kind of cookie-cutter stuff, but I think people want to hear new stories and see new faces and relate to new talent. We need to support indie films and especially Westerns. Please go see this movie on a real screen!

鈥淓ast of Wall鈥� opens in theaters Aug. 15. It is rated R for language throughout.