In Search of La Che is a no-budget feature that starts off on a rough note and doesn’t get much better after that. Breaking the fourth wall, John Tavis (played by Duncan Airlie James), speaks directly to the audience—setting up the film as documentary about a search for a relatively unknown musician named Roxy La Che. According to Tavis, La Che was one of the most important rock and rollers to ever play music but he’s criminally underappreciated.
The amateur filmmaker sets out on a quest to track down his idol—starting with an interview with the webmaster for the only Roxy La Che fansite. This brings us to Larry McShane (played by Kyle Calderwood), who is one of the most bizarre and unwatchable characters ever filmed. From there, the rest of the film is a series of awkward conversations between Tavis and other subjects who have bits of background and clues into the mystery. Some of them come off as normal guys with no real zany characteristics and some of them are Nazis psychopaths.
Some films struggle to find and follow a tone but this isn’t the case with In Search of La Che. Unfortunately, La Che has a tone, it’s just annoying and unbearable. That being said, Tavis is a likable character; and James has a lot of to carry on his shoulders. He spends way too much time talking to the camera—explaining what’s happening and how he’s feeling about situations—but in the end, he comes off as a regular guy who serves as a pillar of normalcy amongst a barrage of lunacy.
Terrible costumes, amateur sound, and rough editing makes this a hard film to watch. James’ likeability is the only thing that may keep you through the entire film.
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