This hilarious, and timely, comedy about fake news, conspiracy theories, and how the South actually won the Civil War, is a great example of modern filmmakers taking advantage of what Birmingham and the surrounding areas have to offer in terms of location. Taking place primarily in Avondale, and more specifically the Delta Pawn shop on 6th Ave. South, the film centers around a recently inherited family heirloom- a Confederate sword- that purports to be irrefutable evidence that our history books have been lying to us all along, and that it was actually the Union who surrendered to Jefferson Davis in 1865, and not the other way around. Starring Marc Maron as the pawn shop’s beat down and bedraggled owner, alongside his hapless and easily persuaded sidekick Jon Bass, the movie walks straight into the zeitgeist of our current media era, where crackpots and cranks have been allowed to roam free on the internet and take advantage of people who are either incapable, or just unwilling, to do their own homework and fact check even the most basic of easily debunked theories about the earth being flat or anything else for that matter. Which is just one of the things that makes this film so fun to watch.
Following the introduction of Maron and Bass to a lesbian couple (Jillian Bell and Michaela Watkins) who have recently acquired an antique military saber that supposedly belonged to General William Tecumseh Sherman, a series of hilarious hijinks happen from there, as the four strangers get quickly swept away into an upside down world of fiction masquerading as fact, as they try and sell the sword for money to a group of men who believe it to be something akin to the Holy Grail when it comes to flipping the script on the “Lost Cause” and what actually went down on battlefields around the South. Featuring appearances by Sloss Furnaces, Chandler’s Garage, radio station WENN, the former Jimmy’s Hot Dogs, and other local landmarks- along with local Easter eggs like Muscle Shoals shirts and Black Jacket Symphony posters- Sword of Trust is a great watch for anyone interested in seeing modern Alabama on the big screen, even if some of it is a little mocking of those around us. But then again, that’s all part of what makes it so funny to begin with.
FUN FACT: An accomplished guitarist, beyond starring in the film, comedian Marc Maron also did all of the music for it, highlighting one of the many talents he brought to the movie’s production, which he also does for his incredibly popular podcast, WTF.
Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWmQyBjrbfU