|
|
|
|
[REVIEWS
> MISSING ALLEN]
|
| 10/26/2001 |
 |
|
Missing Allen:
The Man Who Becomes a Camera
|
| |
|
Reviewed by Sue Limsukonth
|
| |
| When cameraman Allen Ross stopped communicating
with his family and friends in 1995, most people did not
quickly suspect foul play. But the erratic behavior of
the Chicago independent filmmaker in the years preceding
his disappearance was anything but ordinary, at least
to his life thus far. Born and raised in a tight middle
class family in a Chicago suburb, Ross, well-liked among
friends, studied film and lived in a loft surrounded by
young bohemian independent filmmakers and artists. He
was a gifted cameraman with an eye for capturing images
on film. The urban-loving Ross abruptly relocated in 1993
to backwater Guthrie, Oklahoma and married a mysterious
woman who he recently met who also happened to be a leader
of a cult group. |
| |
| German filmmaker Christian Bauer who had collaborated
with Ross on seven documentaries desperately wanted to
believe that his pal was still alive. Remembering that
Ross once explained to him the possibility for a man to
disappear from a society despite the difficulty of eluding
the modern day technology that tracks our every movement,
Bauer had a reason to believe that Ross might have finally
achieved the perfect disappearing act. That was before
he embarked on a journey to discover the truth to the
vanishing of his missing friend. |
| |
| "Missing Allen" plays out like a cross-country travel
journal. Bauer takes us immediately into the search, far
sooner than we anticipate and are able to comprehend the
significance of the long journey. His soft German accent
is in stark contrast to the vast surroundings of the American
heartland ñ the ladies stiffly-sprayed bleached blond
bangs, the dusty roads cutting through empty fields and
deteriorated clapboard houses. We cannot help but wonder
what made a man like Ross decide to settle down in such
an remote and sleepy place for a person with his background. |
| |
| Shot mostly on video, Bauer documented journey is inter-cut
with a series of interviews with Ross' filmmaker and artist
friends, heart-wrenching talks with his 83-year-old retired
chemical analyst father, and footage of his past work.
What seems to be just a boring search for another missing
person, develops into a relationship with both the missing
Ross and his promising future as a filmmaker. But after
intriguing us briefly, Bauer suddenly goes on cruise control
lacking the aggressiveness to thoroughly investigate the
suspects involved in Rossí disappearance. |
| |
| Linda Greene, who also happened to be the
woman Ross married, is the most suspicious of the suspects.
She was the leader of the Samaritan Foundation, a religious
group whose members believe in the existence of zombies
and vampires, and through her telephone conversation recorded
by Bauer reveals that she undoubtedly had something to
do with his disappearance. Hearing her ghostly voice on
tape intensifies our curiosity about the aspects of this
documentary that are never revealed. Never once do we
get to see Greene. |
| |
| The Samaritan Foundation is only presented
to us as the outer walls of an old jailhouse once used
to house its members. Rumors arise that the cult is connected
to the Branch Davidians, but this is only third-hand knowledge. |
| |
| Although Bauer eventually discovers the fate
of his friend, numerous questions are left unanswered.
How did Ross end up the way he did? What happened in the
last two years of his life? Of all unanswered clues, one
thing is certain. Allen Ross was a fine man with talent. |
| |
One poignant moment takes place on a building rooftop
where Bauer is filming another photographer friend of
Ross who has a small camera in his hand. When asked if
he misses Ross, the friend pauses a long moment holding
back his tears. As soon as the man seems to lose his battle
against his emotions, he quickly raises the camera and,
in turn, takes a picture of the camera that is shooting
him. Bauer tells the man that he is also hiding behind
his camera. Both men seem to shield themselves with the
tools of their trade against the painful reality of their
loss. Sadly, they point their cameras, but come up with
no solutions. .jpg)
|
|
|
|
|
|
