Hired Hand, The

Aroview: An unusual directorial debut for Peter Fonda, who turns out a small masterpiece with this revisionist Western bathed in the hippie afterglow of the 1960s.

Fonda himself plays a wandering cowpoke who crosses the desert with a longtime friend (Oates) to rejoin his long-abandoned wife as her 'hired hand'. Beautiful photography, an unforgettable score and generally bucolic scenes add to the laidback feel, although its not without the requisite shootouts and odd moment of violence. Finally this is most notable for the realistic portrayal of tricksy human emotions. Note: look for Peter's dad, Henry, in a small part.

NZ International Film Festival 2007

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