Still Making Moonshine (2007)

Director: Kelly L. Riley

Writer: ???

Composer: (no score but songs)

Starring:  Jim Tom Hendrick, Jerry Jumper, William "Birdman" Bird, Pat Williams, Gilford Williams, Corey Stephens

More info: www.highprooffilms.com

Plot: Documentary filmmaker Kelly L. Riley returns to the mountains of North Carolina and discovers more than just whiskey being bootlegged. Jim Tom smiths a still from a roll of copper at his creek-side camp. In a dry county thick with prying eyes and tee-totalers, Jim Tom slips around making a run of moonshine. Jerry Jumper and William Bird explain how the old spirit allies of the Cherokee, “the little people”, still live in the nearby woods and streams. As a feature length sequel to the critically acclaimed short documentary “Moonshine”, “Still Making Moonshine” is a drunken tale of lost language, severed limbs, buried shine and blackouts.
 

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Here's more wacky adventures with Jim Tom and his moonshine-making shenanigan's.  Like the the previous documentary, MOONSHINE (2000), we hang around him, his friends, kinfolk, etc.  There are some colorful folks out there.  For as fun as it is to hang out with these people I found it lacking.  I wanted to know more about Jim Tom's background and more about the particulars of making moonshine like with the crapload of sugar and cornmeal, time, etc, how much liquor does it yield?  I'd like to get an idea of how much it's worth it.  It would have been nice to see the film maker's reactions to tasting the stuff.  Also, how much could you sell it for?  Is he just making it for himself?  I don't recall finding out if he does anything with it but drink it himself.  There was another man who says he gives it away to folks who need it for medicine (colds and such).  The rotting foot was gross.  So while I didn't get as many details as I would have liked, it's still a fun ride, hanging out with these people and spending time in a place that for some is a world away. For me, I just have to drive a few miles.  Road trip anyone?