Or… if you’ve seen the trailer, you might be thinking, shouldn’t it be called Curse Of The Man Who CURSES and POOPS When He Sees UFOs?
Watch it here:
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
Okay, all kidding aside, the CURSE OF THE MAN WHO SEES UFOS is actually a fascinating documentary about one man’s obsession to prove to the world that the “brothers from space” are here. And yes it has many comedic moments, but there are elements of tragedy as well.
Directed by Justin Gaar, the film chronicles the life and times of Christo Roppolo (a quintessential California eccentric if there ever was one) who apparently sees UFOs all the time in and around his hometown of Monterey, CA. And not only does he see them, he videotapes them, and claims to be in some kind of telepathic communication with them.
Roppolo’s story begins with a sighting he had in Cleveland, OH when he was just 8 years old. A glowing white ambulance pulls up to the house and Bullwinkle the Moose emerges and bites him on the nose. A perfectly strange genesis to all the weird things that have happened in his life.
From there, we learn more about Roppolo’s tragic past and his current life as this coastal city’s town crier and contactee for all things alien. Gaar immerses himself in Roppolo’s wacky world, and what emerges is a personal tale that reveals far more of our humanity than anything extraterrestrial.
WHAT DID WE THINK?
Now, we know what you’re thinking. He’s a total kook, right? Ahh, if it were only that simple. Roppolo’s certainly a free-spirited eccentric and, as with most eccentrics, there’s always that accompanying feeling of tension that at any moment something’s going to snap and shit’s gonna get scary quick.
But total kook? No.
Roppolo displays a self-awareness that keeps him surprisingly grounded even while his head is in the proverbial clouds. Certifiable kooks don’t exhibit any self-awareness, much less a sense of humor, at all – the latter of which the gregarious Roppolo displays in spades.
And, let’s face it, who the hell really knows what Roppolo’s seeing and videotaping. Some of the footage is certainly intriguing but, as with most UFO films, there’s nothing definitive. It’s mostly (with the exception of some night vision footage taken by a friend) just unidentified lights in the sky. This doesn’t mean there isn’t something extraordinary going on, it just might not be what he thinks it is.
Hint: Top secret military.
Gaar alludes to this very thing in an article about the film, but specifically chose not to pursue this angle, as the flesh and blood character right in front him seemed much more interesting and, dare we say, “out of this world”. We couldn’t agree more and, like A Field Full of Secrets and Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, a new genre of paranormal/conspiracy documentary seems to be emerging where the human interest element of the story is the most interesting.
Maybe we’re the aliens after all.
The bottom line is we really enjoyed this film. On many levels, we both related to Roppolo and Gaar and their fascination with the weird and the mysterious. And maybe, just maybe, the only ones paying attention anymore ARE the kooks and the cranks, the misunderstood geniuses who are trying to tell us something. Something important.
If only we would listen.
Magical Mystery Radio 