"Conagher"-Western movie(1991)

<거사 해설>

이 영화는 극장 개봉이 아닌 TNT에서 TV 시청용으로 제작되었다

 

황량한 서부의 어느 적막한 곳에서 새로운 시작을 하려는 부부와 소년의 아들과 어린 딸을 남기고 남편은 목장을 하겠다며 가축을 사러 나갔다가 객사한다. 그 돌아오지 않는 남편이자 아버지를 기다리며, 어쩌다 가축을 몰고 지나가다 들리는 Cowboy들이나, 가끔 역마차가 오면 마부나 승객들이 쉬기도 하고 또 커피나 식사를 제공하며 어렵게 살아가는데, 아파치 인디언들의 공격과 무법자들의 횡포로 두려움과 외로움에 젖어 사는 미망인 Evie Teale는 의리의 사나이인 중년의 뜨내기 Conn Conager와 사랑이 싻튼다.

 

그녀는 자신의 신세를 쪽지에 써서 Tumbleweed(서부 영화에서 단골로 나오는 흙먼지 날리는 바람이 불면 이리저리 굴러다니는 둥굴게 뭉쳐진 마른 잡초 줄기)에 묶어놓은 게 어디론지 흩어져 굴러가고, 누가 쓴지도 모르는 그 몇 줄의 쪽지글은 먼 타운에 까지 소문이 난다. 가축을 방목으로 보살피는 일을 하는 Conagher도 여러 차례 그걸 읽는다. 그는 가축을 훔쳐 가는 갱단들과 싸우다가  구사일생 하여 부상당한 몸으로 그녀의 집에 찾아갔지만, 차마 사랑의 고백은 못하고 타운으로 발길을 돌렸다.

 

그리고 주점에서 변절한 옛 동료를 만나서 총 대신 맨 주먹다짐으로 혈투를 하여 상대를 혼절시키고, 자신도 만신창이 되었는데, 그녀가 찾아와서 단호하게 이제 집으로 갈 때가 되었다고 말한다. 그는 왜 왔느냐고 물었지만, 호주머니에서 꺼낸 쪽지를 보여주며 물었다. 그녀는 처절한 외로움에 지쳐서 아무도 듣지 못해도 그 누구한테 써야만 했다는 말을 끝내자, 그는 "그 누구라는 사람이 나다!" 하며, 첨으로 뜨거운 포옹을 하며 키스를 한 후에 비척거리는 그와 같이 주점의 문을 나간다. 

 

1991년 촬영때 입가에 잔주름이 많이 진 51살의 초노의 Katharine Ross의 우수에 젖은 연기가, 뚜렸한 여성의 역할이 별로 없는 다른 서부영화에서 보기 드문 낭만적인 면이 돋보였고 잔잔한 감명을 줬다. Evie Teale을 맡은 Catharine Ross(1940년생)는 "졸업(1967)", "내일을 향해 쏴라(1969)" 등으로 우리한테 잘 알려진 여배우인데, 1978년에 "The Legacy" 영화촬영을 같이 하게 된 후로 알게 되었고, 1984년에 Conn Conagher역을 맡은 Sam Elliot(1944년생)과 5번째 결혼을 하였다. 그리고 지난 38년동안 살았고, 현재 LA Malib의 seaside ranch에서 살고 있다. 이 거사가 매우 좋아하는 서부영화에 나왔던 원로 배우들은 모두 타계하였고, 그의 절친인 Tom Selleck(1944년생), Robert Redford(1936), Clint Eastwood(1930), Robert Duvall(1931) 그리고 상대적으로 젊은 편인 Kevin Costner(1955)등 많지 않은 배우들이 현존한다. Sam Elliot은 많은 영화와 TV Drama에 출현했는데, 거사가 감명깊게 본 영화는 "Road House(1989)" 와 "Tombstone(1993)" 등이다.

 

 

 

<Plot>- Scripted from Wikipedia

Pioneer woman Evie Teale (Katharine Ross) is headed west with her family to start a new life, only to have her husband, Jacob (Billy Green Bush), tragically die during the journey. Left to fend for herself and her two children in the middle of nowhere, Evie strikes up a friendship with cowboy Conn Conagher (Sam Elliott), who passes by while she's working as a food server. And Conagher certainly can help, as the area is under constant threat of attack, be it from Apaches or local bandits. Conn Conagher is an honest, hardworking cowboy. Their lives are intertwined as they fight the elements, Indians, outlaws, and loneliness.

 

Conagher, meanwhile, drifts out in the wilderness. Mahler and he meet an old rancher, Seaborn Tay, who hires both of them. Conagher proves to be a hardworking cowhand, but the ranch comes under threat by the Ladder Five gang, led by Smoke Parnell. Mahler deserts the ranch after an argument with Conagher and joins the Ladder Five. Conagher saves the ranch and Tay's cattle twice from the Ladder Five, both in a series of quick gun battles. He also visits the Teale farm regularly, and Evie and he grow fond of each other and he becomes a father figure to her children.

 

One day, when Conagher is out herding Tay's cattle, he is ambushed and shot by the Ladder Five gang. The wounded Conagher hides out during the day, and at night returns and holds the Ladder Five, including Parnell, at gunpoint. Weak from his wound, Conagher eventually collapses and passes out, but not before he demands the Ladder Five to clear off of the land. Parnell knows now that he can finish Conagher, as his gang has sworn to do, but instead orders his man to take Conagher to Seaborn Tay. The next day, the Ladder Five gang clears off the land.

Evie Teale writes anonymous poems and ties them to tumbleweeds. Conagher chases tumbleweeds all over the prairie through most of the film, but he does not guess she is the tumbleweed poet until the end.

 

When Conagher recovers, he tells Tay he feels like drifting again. Tay says he can stay and own part of the ranch, he has earned it, but Conagher has always been a drifter and he feels he needs to move on. He stops in the saloon in town and sees the stagecoach manager, who buys him a drink. Conagher tells him he has "tumbleweed fever" and the stagecoach manager laughs and says, "you, too?" Apparently, cowboys all over the county have been finding the notes tied to the tumbleweeds, and wondering about the woman who wrote them. The conversation shifts to Mrs. Teale, and the stagecoach manager says the family had a hard winter, but they made it through. He tells Conagher he should go visit, but Conagher says he feels like heading north.

 

However, in the next scene he rides up to the family's cabin. He has brought some groceries as a gift and Mrs. Teale asks him to stay for dinner. He ends up staying for a few days and helps fix the roof and do other chores. Mrs. Teale and he are sitting in rockers in front of the house and it seems like he may be about to say something romantic when Mahler rides up. Apparently, he has been courting Mrs. Teale, although she is not very interested. Conagher and he have a quiet argument about the Ladder Five gang in front of Mrs. Teale, and when Mahler sees that she believes Conagher, he turns and rides away.

 

Evie asks Conagher what he was about to say when Mahler rode up, but he says he cannot remember. He tells her it is time for him to be moving on, and he gives her some money to buy more groceries, saying he would like to be able to come back, but he does not want to be an imposition. She gets mad at him for giving her the money, but says he is always welcome. He rides off, telling himself he is a fool, but he does not think he is worthy of Evie.

In town, he plans to get drunk and then drive north, but he finds a drunken Mahler in the saloon. The two argue again, and Conagher challenges Mahler to a fist fight. Mahler starts out beating up Conagher; Conagher finally gains the upper hand.

 

Evie arrives at that moment where she tells Conagher, "It's time for you to come home now." Conagher is physically hurt, but asks her why she came back. She tells them they all felt lost without him. He takes one of her tumbleweed notes out of his pocket and asks her if she wrote them. She said she did. She was just so lonely she had to talk to someone even if no one was there to hear. He says, "There was, Evie, there was me." They kiss, and he says they can start a new life together. She smiles and they walk out the door together.(-)