Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets (2020)

In the shadow of the bright lights of Las Vegas, this is the last time people call for a favorite diving bar called the Roar of the 1920s. Its regulars are an integral part of American life, forming a closely connected but occasional community that hovers between dignity and debauchery and knows the past like the back of their hand in the face of an uncertain future. At the very least, this is the premise; reality is as unreal as the world they fled. Bloody noses and empty pockets are mosaics of different lives drifting in a failed society, disillusioned and rickety, singing as their ship sank. Filmmakers Bill and Turner Ross (Western,2015 Sundance Film Festival) have returned with a dirge portrait of a small world that is disappearing but still warm and dancing in the comfort of the community. Their psychedelic approach to non-fictional stories creates vague memories of empty shots and experiences lost in puffs of smoke.