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Four “Picture Brides”, from New Orleans, arrive in the Brazilian jungle on a riverboat, brought there to marry workers at Lottagrasso, a remote mining site of the Standard Diamond Mines. Also on the boat with the four “mail-order” brides (Americans Mame Smith, Flo Lane, and Gwen from England and Lena from Europe) is Mary Lee, a frightened and innocent girl, who has come to see the mine’s brutal supervisor, Von Luden, about a job.
Leigh’s comedy short follows Gary’s (Lee Ingleby) attempt to buy a second-hand car. What should be a straightforward task is turned into something of a quest by various people, including dodgy East End car dealer Perry (Eddie Marsan), Perry’s taxi-driver dad (Sam Kelly), a garage owner called Derek (Robert Putt) and, not least, Perry’s wife Debbie (Samantha Spiro). Oh, and a couple of twins (Danielle and Nichole Bird) are thrown into the mix to cause further confusion. The narrative’s series of gags are shot through with sporting references and images of everyday folk taking part in grassroots sports. The swimmers, joggers, cyclists, five-a-side footballers and the rest underline the importance of sport, however casual, to the population in general and the East End of London in particular in this Olympic year. [Source — Channel 4]
A cinematic portrait of a small town stock car track and the tribe of drivers that call it home as they struggle to hold onto an American racing tradition. The avant-garde narrative explores the community and its conflicts through an intimate story that reveals the beauty, mystery and emotion of grassroots auto racing.