The Basket
"The Basket" takes place in a small town in Washington during 1918. Orphaned German siblings, Helmut (Robert Karl Burke), and Brigitta (Amber Willenborg) have moved in with a local doctor. Martin Conlon (Peter Coyote), teacher, has moved his opera records and other "strange" artifacts into the one-room schoolhouse. The local's aren't quite sure what to make of the newcomers. In particular, the Emery family is not happy with the new additions to their community.
First-time director, Rich Cowan, tosses several story lines into the air. Brigitta begins a romance with an Emery, a fast talking crop harvester shows up to wow the town, and there's a contest where any basketball team that beats a team from Spokane wins $500. Fortunately, for time's sake, Cowan doesn't attempt to cover everything. However, it does keep heads spinning for a while trying to make it all out.
Eventually Helmut evolves into the central character as a basketball up and comer. This seems like a tactic to woo young viewers to the screen. However, this movie is a little slow moving for a generation used to images flashing before their eyes in rapid succession. In short, it's for Mom and Dad.
Production is authentic and tries to stay neat, clean, and to the point. Despite it's chaotic nature, and inexperienced acting team, the movie is
worth seeing.