Annette Kellerman reviews OKIE NOODLING at SXSW 2001

Hey everyone! I’m back again to review one of the many brilliant documentaries featured this year at SXSW. I’m still totally amazed by the quality displayed at this year’s fest, but I felt it my duty to rave first about one documentary particularly close to my heart- OKIE NOODLING.

Now, from reading this site through the years, you may already know that, yes, I’m an Okie. Not from Muskogee (though I have many friends from there), but from a small town in the southwest part of the state called Duncan. Curiously, I grew up a mere hour drive from Harry’s high school home in Seymour, TX- we even grew up listening to the same radio station out of Wichita Falls. Sorry- I’ll get back to the review.

Ahem…growing up in small town Oklahoma really seemed no more unique than growing up in any other small town in America. High school football ruled the fall. One or two vicious ice storms paralyzed us for a few days in the winter. Spring of course brings in the twisters. And finally during summer you could get to the lake. The lake, or any form of water for that matter, is a big deal in such a land-locked state, and although my Yankee parents never really got into the lake lifestyle, almost all of my friends had boats and cabins. You could always tell when a friend returned from the lake- two shades tanner and a bit dirty from the water. I thought I had a pretty good handle on the summer activities of the lake people. That is until the night my sister and her boyfriend returned from a lake excursion- complete with fresh catfish and even fresher razor-like cuts all over her boyfriend’s forearms.

They had been noodling. For those of you who don’t know, noodling is the art (yes, art) of fishing for catfish with nothing more than a couple of sticks and your bare hands. Noodlers brave the murky waters of lakes and creeks, reach into the dark holes and crevices of the banks, and literally pull catfish by the mouths out of their hiding places. And we’re not talking about minnows here people! These monsters can get up to forty or fifty pounds and sometimes more. When my sister first explained it all to me, I thought she and her boyfriend were officially on crack. I mean, some of the cuts on his arms were up to his elbows! Once I understood, I still found it hard to actually visualize a person using their hand as bait, emerging from the water triumphantly with a gigantic catfish firmly clamped to their arm.

Finally my years of curiosity have been satiated with one of the best docs at the fest. OKIE NOODLING is a refreshing foray into the unique world of a fantastically strange sport. Director Bradley Beesley (Hill Stomp Hollar, a former SXSW favorite) follows a group of die-hard noodlers through several spots around Oklahoma. Along with many extremely satisfying sequences featuring these fisherman wrestling catfish after catfish, Beesley also includes a great attempt at understanding the mentality behind the raw- sometimes dangerous – sport. Noodlers are not exactly revered in the fishing world. In fact, noodlers are usually thought of much like their prey- bottom feeders. Fortunately, Beesley shatters this stereotype with a thoughtful, non-slanted look at the noble sport.

To further legitimize noodling (as well as provide some more great footage) Beesley hosted the first-ever noodling competition in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. As noodlers from around the state arrive with freshly wrangled catfish in tow, it becomes apparent how important the hunt really is to these guys. Beesley illustrates well the fact that noodling is not something you learn in school, at camp, or TV. You learn how to noodle when you jump into the water with your family and friends, wait to get bit, then help each other wrassle the critter up into the air. Sorry…I’m breaking into Okie-ease. Really, though, OKIE NOODLING is a great piece of work. Well crafted, well covered with an amazing soundtrack by The Flaming Lips, the film’s 57 minutes fly right by. I hope you don’t think this is a biased review. Sure, it was a special treat for me to see the familiar sights of home projected on a big screen; however, the non-Okie audience must agree since the film won the audience favorite award! Another solid, enjoyable cinematic experience that I just had to share.

Until next time,