Plagues & Pleasures on Salton Sea
An Interview With Director Chris Metzler
Documentaries often lack a visual esthetic, according to San Francisco-based filmmaker Chris Metzler who co-directed Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea, which was released on DVD in 2007. In a telephone interview, he shared his own plagues and pleasures in making a visually appealing, quirky documentary about a body of water in the Southern California desert that was created as a resort, but then later abandoned after a series of weather disasters.
A Forgotten Community
“We wanted a very visual place and unique characters to provide an interesting backdrop,” he said. “This is an intimate and eclectic portrait of a forgotten community searching for meaning and place. It’s almost a universal story about how these remaining people (about 5,000 to 6,000 residents) got here. Most of them came in the 1960s in the heyday of the Salton Sea. They planned for an early retirement and sunk all their money into this investment. Now they’re older and stuck here.”
Metzler describes the area as a unique refuge for people fleeing society. “You can reinvent yourself at the Salton Sea. A search for freedom bonds all the residents.”
Narrated By John Waters
Directed and photographed by Metzler and Jeff Springer, the unusual visuals are enhanced by narration from independent filmmaker John Waters and a soundtrack created by “Music by Friends of Dean Martinez.” Additional photography was provided by Brett Dodd, Pat Dolan, Josh Kurz, and Curtis Peterson.
Shot over four years from November 1999 through the summer of 2003, Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea provided a challenge to the filmmakers because of the extreme desert climate: temperatures of up to 120 degrees, wind, dust, dirt, flies, mosquitoes, and the stench from millions of rotting fish.
“Laying dolly track on uneven surfaces was a continuing problem, and it was impossible to keep the lens clean in those conditions,” said Metzler, who also produced the 73-minute unrated film. “Our wide-angle lens let us get in close for a casual style, but it collected dust like you wouldn’t believe. We were constantly wiping down the lens and then it would be dirty again instantly.”
At the end of each day after shooting from sunrise to sunset, the two filmmakers (who alternated between sound and shooting duties) were severely sunburned and covered with insect bites.
A Carnivalesque Appeal
“We had no real cause when we went into this project,” Metzler said. “We still aren’t really sure what should happen to the Salton Sea, so we let the people in the film debate the issues. We capture real life there -- the funny times and the sadness of these warm, friendly people.”
In 2004, they began the festival circuit with Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea. Screenings have included outreach campaigns for bird and water issues, plus ready-made postcards addressed to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger regarding the fate of the Salton Sea.
Recently the film was featured as part of the Ironweed Film Club, a monthly progressive film festival on DVD devoted to providing socially conscious, political, and environmental documentaries with interesting stories and unique points of view.
But Metzler says he isn’t too concerned about why people watch the film, as along as they watch it. “Some people will be drawn [to the film] by the carnivalesque appeal of the Salton Sea, but there’s much more to the story than that.”
For more information on documentary films, read Young @ Heart Movie Review.
