“Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” has been released.
This was the best documentary I saw at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and it will surely rank as one of the best movies, fiction, or non-fiction, that will be released this summer. There have been rumors have been whether or not some of the film was staged, I wouldn’t know, but, regardless, it’s an incredibly infectious vision.
Here’s what I wrote about the film back in January at Sundance:
“Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” has filmmaking duo Bill and Turner Ross tackling the final day at Roaring 20s, a dive bar in Vegas, before it closes its doors for good at 4 in the morning. Its regulars, a cross section of American life, are an assortment of characters that make this doc one of the most fascinating of the entire festival. Despite their flaws, they exude empathy, stumbling and slurring their speeches as the clock inches towards closing time. The fact that these sad-sack losers of life have a reality they're escaping from, makes “Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” a kind of mosaic of disillusionment. What will they do once the bar they call home closes down for good? The feeling and comfort of community is all over this film, these individuals visit the bar daily to shelter themselves from the outside world, but the shelter is about to close — maybe they will use it as another chance at life, but we’re not too confident they will.”
“Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets” will be released on VOD on July 10.