Shotgun Stories
by 
|Following the death of their father, a feud erupts between two sets of half brothers in a sleepy middle American town. Both sides have chances to end the conflict, but each new act of violence restarts the battle. Too often in films everything is explained, however with Shotgun Stories, the characters are so well crafted, the dialogue so exact and spare, that the story is told with a minimum of exposition and the beauty is in what is left unsaid. The film then conveys its powerful message with a minimum of fuss and without being overbearing. Lingering shots of empty streets, rubbish strewn reserves, ploughed fields, pickup trucks and simple homes illustrate the lives of the inhabitants of this town better than any spoken description ever could, and are shot with such care the plain scenery is granted a sense of romanticism. This surprisingly touching film has won many awards at film festivals around the world and has snuck onto DVD with a minimum of press but is well worth the effort.
Also by XAVIER TOBY
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Goodone is a UK-based sustainable fashion label who design and produce innovative, one-off clothing made from hand-picked, locally-sourced, recycled fabrics.
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A little infectious lollipop rock anyone? Feel free to embarrass yourself singing along at the stoplight. If the other drivers give you that look, roll down the windows and spread the love.
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