In 2020, Luke Gilford released National Anthem, a monograph on the queer population in the International Gay Rodeo Association. His pictures are arresting and exquisite. A Southwest native himself, Gilford’s childhood love for rodeos faded as he grew up because the macho and often homophobic culture did not seem to afford him an opportunity to be part of it.
However, his journey took a surprising turn when he became aware of IGRA. As Gilford told Vogue: “It was amazing because I was like wow, you can exist safely in these spaces and find community and do so many of the things that I love doing-but in a queer community.” For two years he traversed Texas, New Mexico and Arizona documenting which is a sub-culture inside another sub-culture that is bursting with life. This is where Gilford’s debut film “National Anthem” takes place.
21-year-old Dylan (Charlie Plummer) carries a heavy burden although still young in terms of age. One day she stumbles back home late at night after drinking with men while her younger sibling Cassidy (Joey DeLeon) is left behind under the care of Cassidy who is way much older than him. He works as a casual laborer during daytime hours. He cooks for Cassidy; makes sure that he finishes his assignments before bed and shares something with him on various issues. He has patience towards his brother who at times gets sick but Dylan cares tenderly for him. All this Dylan does so that he could save enough money to buy himself an RV . Freedom? Does Dylan even have friends? Doubtful if at all they are there.Looking for a girlfriend or boyfriend will also take some time.There isn’t any left.
One day he gets offered a two-week job working on what appears to be ranch out into the desert. From the back of the truck taking him to the gate, he stares at the words above it: House of Splendor. Within minutes Dylan understands that House of Splendor is not any other type of ranch. He notices three ladies on horseback all dressed in billowing gowns. Everybody on the property seems to be happy as they go about their work (driving tractors, feeding animals, gardening). Dylan is drawn by this .
It’s Viola in Twelfth Night wanting to know “what country friends is this?” When Dylan got hired by Pepe (Rene Rosado), who owns and runs House of Splendor, he never told him what country House of Splendor was; he just put him to work without explaining anything .The work is hard but there is a friendly atmosphere around it. An instant-crush on one woman who rides horses takes hold on Dylan. Her name is Sky (Eve Lindley) and she’s a trans woman who can tell that he likes her and encourages it openly .She invites everyone.
For those whose biological families rejected or abused them, the concept of “chosen family” holds special significance. A place where people can create their own families is called House of Splendor filled with queer rodeo riders representing all sexual orientations/identities possible. Dillon has never seen anything like this before – not different sexualities but people being nice to each other even when they disagree. They have chosen to live happily together as a community within which they grow their food, nurture animals and hold rodeos every weekend. They take Dillon as part of them for all these things.
A close-knit community can be said to be a utopia (or rather, a haven for people who don’t like privacy). We know only few individuals from this community, namely Sky, Pepe and lovely Carrie played by Mason Alexander Park who depicts her role with immense warmth and intelligence that radiates from the screen. Dylan has a crush on Sky; she is his first love but the guide in their lives is Carrie, who also acts as the warm motherly figure (also welcoming Cassidy into their midst when they all go to a county fair).
All of them have suffered through the trauma of being rejected by their families and society at large. The second one’s political aspect which includes Tennessee outlawing drag shows or punitive legislation in force is not stated but its silence gives an even more poetic tone to this community. These individuals are not mere “survivors”. They are living fully. This rodeo defines their existence. They have created the world they want to live in.
According to Gilford, they believe that if you come here, you belong here.” It’s really beautiful how he puts it. That’s America for you.” Hence, the title. Gilford’s eye for cinema is geared towards minute details and several scenes seem like documentaries especially those happening during rodeos. These are just ordinary people doing real things.That said, he was aware of Dylan’s self-realization just as Plummer does whom we see right through because he has such an open face whose emotions cannot be missed by any camera lens.The truth about falling in love is written all over his face.”National Anthem” by Gilford and Katelin Arizmendi takes us into these lives with tenderness and closeness.Big skies, earths sunsets’ glowing red light on peoples faces—these things melt us into what it feels like when we live at House of Splendor.Gilford knows what he’s doing here.
These people live out all of the “tropes” of Western life: cattle-ranching, agriculture, rodeo, and dancing in a row. The residents of this community take off their cowboy hats and place them over their hearts when they sing the national anthem. This is done without mocking or being sarcastic about it. It is also part of who they are regardless if the majority approves or not.The romance between Dylan and Sky, as well as the somewhat strained “love triangle” with Pepe, veers towards cliché, but Gilford – and his actors – fight against that trend thankfully. The film’s visual language is so strong and palpable—so poetic—that “National Anthem” is clearly not asking whether Dylan and Sky will end up together.”National Anthem” narrates how a shy young boy is now surrounded by his type of people because he has found his family.Whether or not he stays with them does not even matter now. He knows there’s more outside.There’s hope.For Dylan.And for his little brother.
In his introduction to National Anthem monograph, Gilford wrote: “One of the great powers of the queer rodeo is its ability to disrupt America’s tribal dichotomies that cannot contain who we really are – liberal versus conservative, urban versus rural, ‘coastal elite’ versus ‘middle America.’ It’s incredibly rare to find a community that actually embraces both ends of the spectrum.” “National Anthem” focuses on intimacy and sentimentality which it conveys visually since these feelings can be understood without any words spoken aloud.
The theme of the movie isn’t monologued like this. Every frame has the theme in it. One can see that Gilford loves his characters. It is a joy to meet them, be embraced by their world for a moment.
Also, Read On Fmovies