Online Article: Las Vegas Weekly - December 1999

Award-winning independent film, Zacharia Farted, is long on mileage
Thu, Dec 2, 1999 by By Todd Peterson
 

If the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, then the shortest distance between a series of points must be several straight lines, right? At least that's what can be deduced from Zacharia Farted, a quirky, humorous, insightful and endearing independent movie making its Las Vegas debut at CineVegas.

Part comedy, part mystery and part drama, the film avoids wholehearted commitment to any of these genres, instead delving into each with equal aplomb.

First-time screenwriter, producer and star of the film, Colin Cunningham, admits he deliberately tackled a big project. Cunningham says that when the original rough cut of the film was finished, some of the initial criticism he heard was that he had two different films trying to be one. But, says Cunningham, "I love when I go into a film, even when I'm expecting to see a comedy, and I get something more."

Judging by the title, it's easy to assume that a comedy is what you'll get. But Zacharia Farted, the directorial debut of Michael Rohl, is the story of a journey into self and friendship; into trust and the existential nature of living. In short, it's about two buddies, Cunningham as Michael and Benjamin Ratner as Brian, who set out on a road trip to discover the origins of a single key they find near an unmarked tombstone while on a fishing trip. The key, stamped with the imprint, PUMZACH, leads the pair on a journey during which each comes to discover more about the other, themselves, and the real meaning of the key.

At the center of the film is Martin Yellowcrow, played by Willie John Hanna. The 63-year-old Hanna, a one-time Hollywood stuntman and bodybuilder, plays an Apache shaman whose Irish father has endowed him with a strong accent and his dog, Zacharia.

As far as the title is concerned, Cunningham has already worked out a pat answer. "[It's] a metaphor for not judging a book by its cover. I once read a Zenlike parable that said something to the effect of, 'The most noble pursuits in life can be equated to that of a fart of a dog,'" says Cunningham. "People can get so self-important and all that kind of stuff. But as you can see, it's definitely not a fart movie. But it's about not taking your life so damn seriously."

It was a deliberate title, designed to help the movie stand out in a sea of independent films. What's amusing, and perhaps a bit disturbing, is the reaction that can be generated by such a word, says Cunningham. Had they named it Bloodbath VI or advertised it as having gobs of violence, murder or mayhem, he says, no one would have batted an eye. "Yet you throw the word 'fart' into a title, and it's like you're stopping traffic."

But while the film is long on humor, gastrointestinal references play a minor part. And ultimately, Zacharia bears little resemblance to a typical Hollywood comedy, or really much coming out of Hollywood for that matter.

"You have a film that definitely starts off as a comedy and definitely ends up as a drama," says Cunningham, but the move isn't just a simple switch from one genre to another.

"The amazing thing about it," adds Hanna, "is the timing and the development of the film and the editing brought that to more of a conclusion."

"It's a big movie. We definitely set out to do a lot," says Cunningham. "It's not Lawrence of Arabia. It's an independent little film, but the themes are big."

So has been the recognition. Winner of three audience favorite awards in Palm Springs, Calif.; Victoria, B.C.; and Sedona, Ariz.; the film has also been nominated for five LEO (British Columbia) Awards.

All of which pleases Cunningham, but, he explains, "My goal with it was to never go out there and become a celebrity or for it to even be a huge hit or anything like that. My goal, and it's the only goal that you can truly have, is to make the best movie you possibly can. And if I could get half of what I wanted to get on film, if I could succeed in that, well then it would be a life worth living."

But making the decision to create that life was an idea Cunningham says eluded him for a number of years. The 33-year-old actor, a Los Angeles native, recalls the time when he had to make some hard decisions regarding his life; a theme he says is certainly echoed in Zacharia Farted.

As a struggling actor in his late 20s, living in Hollywood, he reached a point where he couldn't stand another day of hounding people to get noticed. "I woke up one day and realized I was putting my entire destiny in other people's hands," says Cunningham.

Sick of complaining about casting directors and trying to subsist on bit parts, "I kind of decided to build the house myself," he says.

A move to Vancouver and a stint in film school, coupled with his background in front of and behind the camera in L.A., provided Cunningham with the direction he needed.

"My goal was to write and produce and star in a feature film. I figured that if I do that, it might take 10 years, but it would be one more feature than I would have done had I stayed in L.A.," he says.

And the further he got into the project, the more he realized he'd also have to produce it if he wanted the film to retain its integrity.

"There's not a voice in that film that's not in my head," says Cunningham. "When I look at it solely as the writer, everybody in it is me. And it was just kind of fun to be able to give them all a different face."

It became, he says, a question regarding his personal ethics and morality. "The whole film is just a bit of a debate in terms of my head," says Cunningham.

And, says Hanna, the theme of the movie is applicable across the board. "In realistic terms, I think that relates to an awful lot of people on the outside. I think that there's that heart within ourselves and sometimes we're not able to bring that out. We need help from someone else to maybe bring it out in us."