Darwin (Nick Brandestini, 2011): Switzerland

Reviewed by Kathleen Amboy.  Viewed at the Ojai Film Festival, Ojai, CA.

  There’s an old mining town out in the Mojave Desert, near Death Valley, California known as Darwin, which boasts of 35 residents, contains a fully operational U.S. Post Office, and is named after Dr. Darwin French; a medical doctor turned prospector who went searching for silver in the mid 1800’s.

Silver was eventually discovered near Darwin towards the late 1800’s, about the same time the Post Office was built, and by this time the town housed saloons, brothels and a hotel, while the population grew to about 3000.  Over time, as the mines tapered out, so did the population, thanks to a couple of fires that swept through the town.  Darwin then became somewhat of the ghost town it is today, with the current population consisting of artists, ex-cons, and individuals on the lam from big city life.

Brandestini’s film is broken up into several chapters which introduce us to a variety of characters, such as the couple that are practicing paganists.  Chapter III, “Even After Death,”  mentions an elderly poet named Greville Healey, who prior to his death in 2003, was forced to live in an old water tower because he had risked the town’s safety, by twice burning down his former abodes.

Some of the residents are conspiracists, and lead the filmmaker to a secret overlook where they are able to spy on a dubious military base.  Others boldly and brazenly practice their Second Amendment rights, suggesting their disputes are still settled much as it was in the old west, and then brag about the cops being “afraid to enter Darwin.”

Chapter IV, “Water and Power,” stars Michael Laemmle as chairman of the town’s utility board, who is also a nephew of renowned Universal Studios founder, Carl Laemmle.

Although the chapters are metered out as short stories, they tend to fall flat, leading nowhere – we are only given a glimpse into the more telling backgrounds of Greville Healey, Michael Laemmle, and Darwin French – too much time is spent on exposing the diverse personage and their idiosyncrasies. 

The film does capture the rugged, but beautiful landscape, and would perhaps appeal to those interested in California history or  its topography.