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Too much of everything

Admirable film.

Absolutely Fantastic

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

This documentary starts off with two truckers venturing an opinion that without those in their industry the entire American economy would grind to a standstill within three days. Although neither of them provided any economic research to support their contention their point was still quite compelling. From there the film then zeroes in on several truckers as they go about their business and provide us with personal insights on their daily lives. And it's the differences between them that cause this documentary to lose its overall focus as few of them share the same general concerns. For example, one female driver is so afraid for her safety at truck stops that she refuses to come out of her sleeper cab during the night. Meanwhile, another trucker has a woman in just about every town he stays in. But the person who really sticks out is the nutball from Idaho who points to the Confederate flag on his dashboard and proclaims that it represented true "freedom" back in the day. Apparently, he didn't study history very well because if he did he would have known that under that same flag--which he proudly praises--were hundreds of thousands of slaves who were badly beaten and abused in the process. No doubt if they were alive today they would gladly refute any ideas that they were living in "freedom". And if that wasn't bad enough, he then goes on to voice his displeasure at the current government and loudly advocates for a revolution to overthrow it. Nevermind that he has no real idea of what to replace it with. Apparently, he hasn't quite thought that far ahead. Be that as it may, the really fortunate thing is that--although he has the freedom to voice his opinion—others also have the freedom to disregard it for the ignorant ravings that they truly are. Ironically, the next scene features a different trucker informing us of how "patriotic" they are. No doubt most are--but I would venture to guess he never met the guy before him. In summation, although this documentary does offer a unique perspective on the life of several truckers, it lacks a consistent theme which diminishes the overall effect and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Below average.

I have to admit that I was very impressed with the film. While I wasn't too concerned about the actual film making aspect of it, I was paying close attention to the reality and detail of what the film was presenting to the viewers (after all it was a documentary). The subject matter that was presented was great, and the choice of drivers in the film was very diverse and a very real portal to some of the characters one would meet at any truck stop, anywhere, on any day in the US.The film may be scattered somewhat jumping from driver to driver, and it never really gives an idea of what happens or where the people end up at the end of the film. It's more of a snapshot of the daily life of the truck driver, and relies more on stories about how they got to that point in their lives and includes some road stories from the past. It barely touches the surface of the actual daily struggles of a truck driver, but it's done in a nice neutral way that doesn't try to sway the viewer. Some drivers are likable, some are not. The situation throughout the film "is what it is".If you've ever been curious about who those drivers are in those big trucks sharing the road with you, this movie is a very good place to start and get an idea.

I was interested in the title and description of Big Rig while attending the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. However, I was eager to get the heck out of the seats as soon as Big Rig ended. Big Rig is comprised of several "big rig" drivers who set out to deliver goods driven across the United States. The characters are all wonderful people, however the filmmakers never dug deep into the complexity of them as people. Instead, the story meanders as much as the maps in the film are meant to guide, but never do. At most, we get lost. We - the audience - end up going nowhere and, like the direction of the storytelling, end up somewhere but without direction, location, or plot. Why are we here? Where are we? How did we get here? The storytelling is sloppy and the directors' intent on "humanizing" a group of people who they regard as "overlooked" and "invisible" comes across as unconsciously and irritatingly condescending. The problem here here lies in the perspective of the directors instead of the truck drivers. The directors bring their own naive assumptions about truckers forward and then simply edit the film to confirm those assumptions. Overall, the story lacks any tension, the film is entirely too long (should have been a 15 min sketch), the big question of "So what" is never answered, and the entire film is one piece of see-through propaganda that does nothing to further "enlighten" (as the directors claim) the outside world about big riggers.

Big Rig screened this week at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX where it was very well-received. Big Rig is an entertaining and very personnel look at truckers that attempts to counter the many negative stereotypes that Americans have about truckers. The film acts to humanize this group that most Americans know little about. The cinematography of the American landscape as viewed from trucks driving across America is quite beautiful. This is backed up by an entertaining soundtrack. The truckers interviewed are often quirky characters who come off as much smarter and reflective than most of us would expect.In the film, we see a great variety of truckers of different backgrounds, races, personalities, ages, and politics. The film also includes several female truckers and talks about the difficulties that they face in a male-dominated world. The focus is mostly on who the truckers are, why they do what they do, and the difficulties that they face (rising gas prices, time away from their families, government regulation, etc.). The film also tries to show us how crucial and under-appreciated the role of trucking is in our national economy.The only real weakness is that by only telling the story entirely from the truckers' perspective, they provide a portrait that is almost entirely sympathetic and essentially uncritical. They never speak to any consumer advocates or critics of trucking industry, for example. They don't discuss many of the problems that truckers cause for the roads, other motorists, or the environment. They don't really explore much about trucking industry and its faults. The view is more personal and in this case that's mostly a positive. The film is charming and scenic view of an under-appreciated American subculture that is in many ways the unseen backbone of much of the American economy.