'Trying to find the gold tooth in God's crooked smile,? is how alt. country star Jim White describes his music. Director Andrew Douglas was inspired to make this brilliant road documentary by another of White's witticisms, a song titled The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted Wrong-Eyed Jesus.

In a borrowed, rust-bucket 1970 Chevy, the pair traverse the American Deep South. White acts as a tour guide for sights and sounds, at once strange, mythical and possessed of a cruel beauty. The film features the music of, and performances by, The Handsome Family, Freakwater, (former New York Doll) David Johansen, 16 Horsepower and Johnny Dowd, amongst many (unsettling) others. Cult author Harry Crews sticks his nose in for a roadside rant. Pentecostal preachers, lost souls, bar brawlers, convicts and crooners discuss Southern obsessions such as kin, blood, knives, guns, tattoos and liquor. The film is a search for the experience of the authentic South, taking in everything from the sublime (obsession with salvation) to the ridiculous ('alabama Chrome', local parlance for the gaffer tape that holds so many vehicles together).

'audiences will swoon at its deliciously eclectic soundtrack of blues, gospel, and 'sadcore' indie tunes.' -Variety

D Andrew Douglas P Martin Rosenbaum WS Films Transit International TD Video/Col/2003/82mins

Andrew Douglas was born in the UK. Films: Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (MIFF 2004).