June 14, 2008 · 3:55 PM

Underdog Lost In The Fog is a good trip to the doc

By John Katsilometes

Harry Aleo, left, and Greg Gilchrist exult in a victory by Lost In The Fog.

Photo: CineVegas Film festival

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Lost In The Fog
Produced and Directed by John Corey
Plays again June 16 at 4 p.m.

To put it in horse-racing terms, John Corey had a great ride: a cantankerous horse owner seemingly pulled from a fable, the storybook setting of San Francisco and a horse that, for a time, appeared unbeatable.

At the risk spoiling key plot points even in a documentary, Corey’s Lost In The Fog is a great sprint with a wrenching conclusion. The documentary, which made its premiere Saturday, is a stirring and heartbreaking chronicle of the two-year career of an out-of-nowhere thoroughbred owned by San Francisco’s Harry Aelo, a one-man conservative enclave who baits neighborhood liberals by hanging portraits of Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon from his “Looney Valley” real estate office. Corey, a story producer for KPIX Channel 5, the CBS affiliate in San Francisco, began work on the documentary after meeting Aleo and relishing his oddly engaging personality. That Aleo owned what seemed to be a horse with great potential led Corey to leave CBS and work on his first feature film. Then “The Fog” caught fire, winning its first nine races as Corey documented the thoroughbred’s ascension as one of the sport’s more promising stars.

Most of the storytelling is left to Aleo, who could not be more effective if he were scripted, and his sidekick, trainer Greg Gilchrist. The horse’s winning streak eventually ends, tragically, but the film is a fitting legacy to the colt’s brief and powerful impact on the horse-racing world – particularly in the Bay Area, which doesn’t exactly boast a rich tradition in the sport. The doc was “plucked from a pile” by CineVegas Artistic Director Trevor Groth to make its premiere at the festival.

Aleo has since been stricken with cancer and, at age 88, won’t likely be able to experience the full scope of the film’s success. “It’s a bittersweet moment. Sadly, Harry is terminal and probably won’t be around to see how it all turns out,” Corey said after the premiere. “He’s my 88-year-old friend. I suggest everyone get one of those.”

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