STRANGE BREW

Robert Frank, who revolutionized the look of contemporary photography with his 1959 book of harsh 35-millimeter b&ws;, “The Americans,” didn’t make the same splash with his first feature film, a candid backstage documentary on the Rolling Stones that disappeared quickly in 1972--along with its unprintable title.

So how, 14 years later, was Frank able to get backing to direct his first dramatic feature, “There Ain’t No Candy Mountain,” which has just wrapped in his home territory of Novia Scotia?

Frank’s co-director is Rudy Wurlitzer, who wrote 1971’s “Two-Lane Blacktop,” with James Taylor. It wasn’t exactly your mainstream movie. And look at some of his cast: small parts for musicians David Johansen, Joe Strummer, Leon Redbone, Dr. John and film maker Jim Jarmusch (“Down by Law”), plus a supporting part for Tom Waits. What a mix!

“He who risks nothing gets nothing,” explained co-producer Suzanne Henaut. “There is potential here to have a film which is at once filled with genius, and erratic. Maybe erratic and genius are inseparable. Anyway, there’s a solid story line and script, and so, for our first English-language film, we couldn’t resist. It was time that Robert Frank had access to a fictional feature.”

The Byzantine plot has Julius (Kevin O’Connor), a NYC new-waver down on his luck, hitting the road in search of a mythical, mystical guitar-maker named Elmore (Harris Yulin), whose hand-carved bass guitars are the rock equivalent of a Stradivarius. It climaxes with a battle by assorted international characters over the coveted instruments.

Don’t expect the ordinary.