Politics is an interesting realm. It brings together all sorts of people from different backgrounds, whether they have office experience or not. I guess that’s the juicy part if at the end of the day someone less knowledgeable and inexperienced wins the election; that particular country might be in big trouble, while the rest of the world will get the chance to have fun of on one particular politician. “Limestone Cowboy” is about ambiguity, the desire to bring changes to the society by someone who has no clue about what should be done to convince people who to cast their vote for.

“Limestone Cowboy” is the story of Karista, a man with a charismatic personality, troubled childhood, and traumatic memories. He grew old, has one son, grandson, but is a bit naïve in the political world. He certainly knows that he’s got to change something. He believes being a people person can help him to win the prime minister’s office. It’s like the daydreaming scenario where everybody talks about who will drive the car and who will take over the front passenger seat while the car itself is yet to be purchased.

Inspired by true events and directed by Abigail Mallia, “Limestone Cowboy” specifically highlights what people need and do not need nowadays in politics. She takes one particular protagonist to show how far he might be able to go with the right support. Tommy, who becomes Karista’s campaign manager, is a strange individual with a hidden agenda. He takes Karista all the way to live TV to talk about the upcoming elections but turns into laughing-stock.

In the end, there’s something humane and profound about Karista. He is not lying, not cheating. He might be crazy, that’s true. He certainly has no right qualification to become the prime minister and anyone who would think otherwise is as insane as him. But he is an ordinary person who simply failed at calculating his own steps. Yes, in a different time or in a different country he could have been a big success. But in Malta, all what he could do is lean towards the Western world and get nothing out of it. That said, it’s rather a tragic comedy about one big mess created by one man, because what he keeps in his mind is the painful past and one little mistake, I guess, which drives him towards the horizons that unfortunately has no logical end for him.