Review: Beauty Beneath The Dirt

I just watched the AT Indie movie Beauty Beneath the Dirt which tells the story of three young people thru hiking the Appalachian Trail in the Spring and Summer of 2010.  Known collectively as the Traveling Circus and individually as Ring Leader, Monkey and Lightning, the movie follows the trio as they hike their way from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.

Produced and Directed by Katherine Imp aka Ringleader, with her brother Brandon as Monkey and friend Emily Ginger as Lightning, all starts out well and I actually enjoyed the movie, even though it got a little over the top with the drama at times.  I don't think any of the drama was contrived, but at times I wanted to reach into the computer screen and slap each of the three hikers to get them to get a grip.

For a low budget fiscally challenged independent movie, I thought the cinematography, editing, post-production and score was very well done.  The movie flowed well with a nice little map graphic that kept coming up giving details of each portion of the hike.

All in all I enjoyed the movie, even with all the drama.  I liked as they worked their way through each of the hardships that a thru hike throws at you along with the personal meltdowns that everyone has when embarking on a long distance hike.  I found myself laughing at times and squirming at others.  Probably exactly what they were going for.  Bravo.

One thing I noticed, Ringleader really lived up to her trail name.  Even though she mentioned it a number of times that everyone should "hike their own hike", I really think she expected the other two to hike her hike.  Being the producer, director and "ringleader" are all about vision and control and I think her lawyer came out when things didn't go just as her preconceived plans dictated.

I'm really happy that each of them pretty much ended up "Hiking Their Own Hike". 

Four Stars

Actors	Katherine Imp, Brandon Imp, Emily Ginger
Producers	Jason Furrer, Katherine Imp
Director	Katherine Imp