No Gray Twilight

"Far better is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though chequered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they have lived in the gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat." No Gray Twilight ends with this quotation by Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States a century ago and in every sense an archetypical American. Preceding this, grainy black-and-white images, accompanied by a raucous guitar and frayed drum, give a short impression of the preparations for a rodeo: cherishing the cowboy hat, cleaning the saddle, girding on the attire, putting on the gloves, buckling the boots, taping the joints and stretching the muscles. In the background, the American flag is flapping. Shortly after the commencement of the rodeo, the image suddenly turns to colour. Then it is over. Whatever happens, it does so off-screen. But already before the opening credits, we see colour footage of a seriously injured man lying on the ground. An archetypical American, who fearlessly tempted fate - in the shape of fierce cattle. For him No Gray Twilight, indeed. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)