Bob and the Trees. 2015. USA/France. Directed by Diego Ongaro. 91 min.
In his feature debut (which expands on a short film from 2011), filmmaker Diego Ongaro, himself a French transplant to western Massachusetts, has created a measured portrait of a middle-aged Berkshires logger. The titular Bob Tarasuk appears as himself, as a deal gone sour makes it hard for him to make ends meet in the craft he has honed for three decades. This droll, vérité-style character study, featuring a cast of local non-actors, deftly captures the local color of a rural lifestyle rarely depicted onscreen—despite its being quintessential Americana—at a moment when its future is uncertain.