Primer by Connor Murray

I recently watched the Independent film "Primer" and I must say that it was both the most confusing and best Sci-Fi movie I have ever seen. This film is described many different ways when explaining, so here goes... This film is about an engineer who (basically by accident) creates a machine that can transport the user back in time. This is not your typical time travel plot by any means and the movie gradually gets weirder and more confusing. But at the same time the movie gets more suspenseful and more intriguing as well. The two main characters Aaron (Shane Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan), realize that Abe's accidental invention is much to valuable to market, thus, they begin to use the machine for simple financial gain in the beginning. But when something goes terribly wrong, they realize that they may be in over their heads. I was actually kind of frustrated at the end of this movie because I liked the movie but I still had a lot of questions that had to be answered. Reading some of the threads on IMDb.com was quite helpful and after having many of my questions answered, I realized just how good this movie was. This is like no time travel movie I have ever seen, because it was made in a much more realistic and believable sense than the typical time travel movie. Not only were many of the terms and ideas in the movie actually related to the real-life explanations about, and aspects of time travel, but the acting and directing in general were also quite impressive. Shane Carruth also wrote and directed this gem which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2004. The main reason I decided to blog about this film is because it is an Independent film that was made on a budget of about 7,000$. That aspect of the film reminded me of El Mariachi which was also made on a budget of 7,000$. I think the fact that Carruth and Rodriguez were both able to make award winning movies on such low budgets truly shows just how talented both of these directors are. After having watched Primer, there was a certain sense of mystery behind the film that I have never felt before. Carruth did an amazing job of giving the audience snippets of information to keep them interested and build the suspense, while he left the main questions at unexplained. I found that the second time you watch this film, you understand and see A LOT more of it and it is very helpful in truly understanding what is going on. I can't say that I would recommend this film to anyone, but I would certainly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good and at times confusing Sci-Fi movie.

WIFF

I was fortunate to be able to attend this years Wisconsin International Film Festival(WIFF) a couple weeks back. Over two days I went to screenings of The Park, dir. Lichuan Yin, Getting Home, dir. Yang Zhang, and Mongol, dir. Sergei Bodrov. Ranked in personal preference, I'd have to say that Getting Home came out on top, followed by The Park and Mongol.

Getting Home was the story of two construction workers who spent their days drinking, until one of them died. The other man, Zhao, had promised to see his remains home, which is across China in Three Gorges. Though it sounds like something Chevy Chase would have done in the late 80's, the film becomes more than just a black comedy or buddy film. Beautiful imagery abounds throughout the film, with the director unafraid of letting a certain amount of silence exist. The people met upon the duo's journey are a fascinating cross section of humanity, from the good (a young man biking to Tibet who helps carry the load up a hill) to the bad (robbers and cruel restaurant owners). The film is sad, no doubt, with it's questions of mortality and futility, but by the end of the film, the viewer is left with what can only be described as a warm feeling inside, filled with the thought that perhaps humanity does have a hope after all.

As a review? 5/5. The only real flaw was that the festival was unable to show a 35mm print(it was held up in customs) and the audience was shown a digital version that was more of a promotional copy, with a time-stamp and image quality lower than a true 35mm print.

The Park was a touching story of a young woman and her father, set in a world where old values and youthful vitality and views are at odds with each other. A fascinating, well shot and acted film. As for a personal rating, I'd say 4.5/5.

Mongol could be described as the big budget film of the festival, as far as I am aware. It seemed like something Hollywood could and would pump out. An attempt at an epic retelling of Genghis Kahns childhood and rise to power, the film was nominated for something like 10 Academy Awards. It was an interesting film, but too flashy at times for it's own good. Had they shot it in two parts and focused more, rather than allowing the quick and at times confusing jumps in time, I feel it could have been much stronger. Not that it was bad by any means, it just lacked the charm of Getting Home and the emotional investment of The Park. Numbers again...4/5.

So, there we have it. A brief, nutshell retelling of the WIFF from my personal point of view. Any time you get to go out and see a bunch of foreign movies AND have some drinks equals a great time in my book.

On Donnie Darko and The Blair Witch Project

Reading/Perusing:

Blair Witch website

Donnie Darko website

Salon.com: "Everything You Were Afraid to Ask About Donnie Darko"

Donnie Darko Frequently Asked Questions @ Stainless Steel Rat

Question:

Discuss your experience navigating the Blair Witch and Donnie Darko websites. How do they add to your experience/understanding of the films?

On Walking and Talking

Hi everyone,

There is no blog due this week. I wanted to give you the opportunity to focus on your Hollywood vs. Independent projects which are due one week from Wednesday (if you are wondering why it's not next week's blog that I am forgoing, it's because I want you to plan ahead).

BUT, that said, you do still have homework! Come into Wednesday's discussion of Walking and Talking with thoughts/ideas/answers about/to the following questions:

1. How would you compare and contrast Walking and Talking and Go Fish?
2. What do you think about Walking and Talking in terms of Christina Lane's article "Just Another Girl Outside of the Neo-Indie" that you read for class a couple of weeks ago?

I look forward to a great discussion on Wednesday!

Ghost World

click on image to see preview

Ghost World was made released in 2001 as a collaboration of Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwiggof. Daniel Clowes had written 'Ghost World' as a comic book which was later made into the film. He co-wrote the script alongside Zwiggof, who directed the film. Daniel Clowes also wrote the comic 'Art School Confidential' which was later made into a film of the same title. They made the film with an aim at trying to depict daily life of the so-called "social outcasts." The film doesn't really have climactic movements. Watching it makes you kinda feel like you're just following these girls around and seeing what they do with their time. The film's actors are relatively known, but mostly in the independent world. The film stars Thora Birch (American Beauty) plays the lead alongside Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation) with Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs)in the lead male role.
The films centers around Enid and Rebecca, two teenage girls that have just graduated high school and are in the process of "growing up." They plan on moving in together and are trying to figure out what they're going to do with their lives. Rebecca is a little more subtle and has a steady job and is psyched to get stuff for her new apartment. Enid is a little lost and not too sure what she wants. To bide their time, they bother their friend at the local gas station about getting rides around town and make up wild stories about strangers and follow them. To amuse themselves, they respond to an ad in the personal section of the paper and hide out, watching their nerdy victim as he embarrasses himself waiting for a date that doesn't exist. They then follow him to his house and visit him at his rummage sale on a later day. This man, Seymour, becomes Enid's new interest, eventually developing on a very personal level. The more Seymour and Enid's nerdy relationship grows, the more Enid and Rebecca part ways.
The film is very edgy in the sense that you sort of see into the minds of the "strange" people that normally stand out when you walk into a crowded place. Enid has a very rebellious character just basically doing whatever she wants, whenever she wants. Rebecca is more laid back is more willing to conform and enjoy herself. Seymour is about forty and is a total geek who cuts himself off socially and spends his time collecting old blues records. I also thought this film was very independent-esque in the the sense that it relies more on dialogue and the girls' quirky characters rather than an action-oriented plot line.

Juno

For my second lived post of the semester I will be discussing the movie Juno. It is actually really interesting to me that this film is classified as independent. First of all it seems that for some reason to me anyway a film should be independent for more than just the reason of being financially made by ones self, with no help from a big studio. Even if this film had no help from a big studio it is filled with established Hollywood stars and should therefore not really be classified as independent, because, I am sure, that they didn't have as much trouble making it as one of us in film school would have. The director is an already established person in Hollywood so making this movie was probably not very difficult for him. I am sure he had the support of most if not all of the actors and I am also sure that money wasn't that big a deal anyway seeing as he is a famous actor in Hollywood.

I am not trying to diminish the films integrity or deny that it is a good piece of work all I am saying is that the system for making movies in our society is a little one sided. People that have the money or the connections already in place seem to make all of these movies and want to advertise them as independent films as to say they are on the same page with El Mariachi for example. Rodriguez was a nobody and had no money and made that film what it is today. He is a true inspiration for young filmmakers that are trying to make it in the film world. It was an excellent movie dont get me wrong, but when it comes right down to it, it just seems like the system sort of sucks.

Enough of my ranting and raving, I think that one thing that stood out the most about this film though was its acting, it was up for some academy awards and I guess it deserved to be. I was really impressed by the leads acting as well as some of the supports like Jennifer Garner. It sort of surprised me that she was in here because she doesn't really seem like the person to do an independent, lower budget film. She seems like she would want the bigger paycheck in the end, but I suppose I could be wrong too.

Beloit Film Festival

For my blog lived experience, I want to write about the Beloit Film Festival my buddy entered in this past summer. Every summer my buddy and I mess around with shooting short films with our friends. Every summer we write and then create them, but never think about submitting them to a film festival. We would think that our films were not professional enough to submit and no one would take them seriously. Well this past summer I unfortunately could not work with him this summer because I have becomes very busy in my own life. He wrote and directed a film called The Capability. It is a twenty three minute short film about three guys and one has the capability to kill. They get put into a situation and in the end you find out what one has the capability to kill. It is a great short film especially being made on no budget with four guys and a camera.

The end of the summer came and my buddy called to tell me how everything went and also decided to tell me he entered this film into the Beloit Film Festival. He was like, “I probably won’t get it in, but it is worth a shot isn’t it?” I said yes of course and wished him good luck. A couple weeks went by and I get a voice mail from my excited friend saying that they accepted his short film into the festival. This festival is by no means at all small, last year the main movie that won starred Katherine Heigel from the movie Knocked Up. He asked me if I would go with him to it and I said I would not miss it.

I feel this whole story relates with what we are learning in American Independent Cinema. The way my friend got into the festival, is like every other indie filmmaker in the world. They might work with larger budgets and better equipment, but he is starting off in the right direction. He also kept a journal like Robert Rodriguez did when he was filming El Mariachi. He explained all the troubles he went through with lighting and places to shoot. He also used actors that are not known at all, which are his friends. His production budget really just included food and mine dv tapes. His friends did not ask for money and he had no one assisting him because I could not help out. This whole procedure shows the independent filmmaker versus the Hollywood production route that was broken down in class for us. I feel it is a great example that you can start off at smaller festivals and work your way up to bigger ones.

In the end he did not win a prize, but being accepted to his first film festival at the age of 19 was winning enough. He was happy with the audience’s response to his movie. They laughed when he wanted them to laugh and jumped when he wanted them to jump. He also felt the Q&A was very fulfilling because a lot of people were interested in his topic and asked him questions. It shows that you don’t need a blockbuster, Hollywood production to start off in this industry. Bryan Pechacek

On Southland Tales

Click Image for Trailer.

Southland Tales is writer/director Richard Kelly's second film, his first being Donnie Darko. Southland Tales is very much in the vein of Independent cinema both in production, story, and visuals. Production was the film had a rough road, shooting was delayed a year until the full cast was in place and funding came after it's festival release. Cherry Road Films funded the initial production for around 15-17 million, which is quite a lot for an independent, but due to the cult following and video release success of Donnie Darko, Kelly was in a prime spot to get better funding for Southland Tales. The films initial edit was 160 minutes long and once it hit festivals it was purchased by Sony Pictures. Kelly and Sony negotiated a deal where more funding for post production would be granted if the film's length was cut. Once more funding came in, Kelly added 90 visual effects and cut the film by 20-25 minutes. The film itself got horrible reviews, especially at the Cannes film festival and it only brought in around $350,000 at the box office. One could say Southland Tales was a hugely independent failure, but don't underestimate the complexities of Kelly film making abilities.

Visually the film was some what traditional in terms, but what was interesting was the use of flat colors within the film. I think Kelly tends to keep his images very dismal and gray, which fits the mood of this film, which puts the present day US in a doomsday situation. But where this films independence really shines is in it's content. Kelly has a unique voice in film and his stories are unique and very complex in nature. Donnie Darko is a prime example, if anyone had visited the website for the film it is very detailed in it's background stories and outlining stories. Southland Tales is the same way, it is actually only three parts of a six part story, the other three were written into books and were going to be released monthly up until the release of the film, this however did not work out. The film starts with the start of World War III, and the US has now blocked off state boarders and citizens need state visa to enter other states. Extremist groups develop and radical political parties and developed. The story centers around an action film actor who suffers memory lose who has ties to right winged political members. He is being sought out by the US and kept tabs on by a Neo-Marxist group. The film is narrated by an Iraq veteran who spins the tale with among other things quotes from the book of Revelation. The film is a satirical fantastical story critiquing ideas of religion and post 9/11 America. Kelly describes it as "creating a piece of science fiction that's about a really important problem we're facing, about civil liberties and homeland security and needing to sustain both those things and balance them." He also sites the films inspirations were the films Kiss Me Deadly, Pulp Fiction, Brazil, and DR. Strangelove. I would recommend this film to people who liked Donnie Darko because it's in the same nature of that film, a world on the brink of destruction with science fiction themes and rips in time. Although not critically of financially successful, the film is worth seeing and Kelly again displays a unique and independent way to weave a good story. Let's just hope Richard Kelly gets the praise he deserves as an American independent film maker.

When Robert Rodriguez first conceived of El Mariachi, he intended to release the film direct to the Spanish video market. By his account, he really did not expect the film to be successful, at least not in the way that it was. His intention was to make it a trilogy, using the three films to practice his filmmaking. To his purported surprise, the film became wildly successful. When columbia initially picked up the distribution rights there was discussion on wether or not the film should be remade with a larger budget with Antonio Banderas starring as the guitar player. Columbia eventually decided they wanted to cash in quick and release the original version of El Mariachi as well as make a Hollywood film using the same character.

Eventually Rodriguez would go on to complete his trilogy. It becomes an interesting study of film making because each film would have a bigger budget, but through it all Rodriguez maintained his steadfast adherence to maximizing his budget by staying cheap. Rodriguez made El Mariachi for $7,000 while trying to make it look like a $7 million dollar movie and Desperado while trying to make it look like a 30 million dollar movie. He finished off by making Once Upon a Time in Mexico for around 30 million.

Even though the movies get successively more expensive I Still always get the feeling the I am seeing more on the screen then was spent for the film. 30 million dollars is a lot of money but it is still relatively cheap for big budget hollywood action movies. Movies similar to Once Upon a Time in Mexico often spend between 50 and 60 million and don't look that much better or even different (at least to my eye) than that film.

Personally watching the films with the commentary or listening to Rodriguez's 10 minute School series provides a revealing example of the way the independent spirit of film making can be applied to Hollywood movies with results that are at once unique and refreshing AND familiar and digestible. Rodriguez ways of maximizing the budget is as much a style in and of itself and are the reasons that he is valuable to the art not just for his films but his ideas and theories of film making.

Saw

While skimming around to find a film to watch or one I’ve already seen for this lived experience blog I ran into the movie Saw so I decided I would watch it again to give myself a refresher on it. At first I was confused because I thought for sure Saw wasn’t an independent film due to how well it was put together but sure enough it was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. Some of the actors in it are Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, and Dina Meyer to name a few. The original cut that was shown at Sundance was rated NC-17 but for releases in theaters it was edited a little to drop it down to an R rating. There were only a few changes made to drop it down which cut the length of the movie by only about a minute or so. The film was made in only 18 days, which if you’ve seen the movie it doesn’t seem like it was possible. For those who haven’t seen the movie before I’m going to first say if you’re squeamish don’t watch this movie, there is a lot of blood and gore involved in it. There are also many parts that would seem like torture basically to the victims who are trying to save their own lives, ending with some ultimately ending their own lives. The plot starts out with two men wake up at opposite ends of a run down bathroom chained to some pipes with a dead man lying in the middle with a tape recorder and a handgun. Both men have tapes that explain what’s going on. What it boils down to is one of the men must kill the other or his wife and kids will die. Some flashbacks of other “death-puzzles,” I guess you could put it, are thrown into the movie to show what other traps this psycho who is nicknamed Jigsaw, due to his practice of cutting up the victims skin into jigsaw puzzle pieces, has planned out before. Jigsaw doesn’t actually ever kill his victims first hand. He either lets them die from the people not completing the sick and twisted games he plays or the victims end up killing themselves. There are many twists and turns in this horror flick that will keep you watching up until the very end. For people who love horror films, especially the bloody gory kinds I’d recommend this movie and all of the other Saw films to watch.
-Dustin Fletcher

On Welcome to the Dollhouse

Readings:
Salon.com interview with Todd Solondz

Geoff King, "Industry" from American Independent Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005. pgs. 11-57.

Questions:

1. In the salon.com interview, Solondz talks about the lack of cinematic representations of adolescence. Do you think that Welcome to the Dollhouse offers the "realistic" representation that Solondz was aiming for? Why or why not?

2. The King reading provides a comprehensive overview of the industry framework within which independent cinema emerged. According to King, in what ways did the major studios' involvement in the sector in the 1990s affect independent film production?

Little Miss Sunshine

I recently decided to watch the independent movie Little Miss Sunshine. Believe it or not I missed the craze that this Sundance sweeper, and academy award winner brewed up about a year and a half ago. In case you are like me and have missed this smart, genius, comedy, Little miss sunshine tells the story of a very dysfunctional family as they try to make it to California so little Olive can compete in the beauty contest to become little miss sunshine. The script was written by first time writer Michael Arndt, and directed by husband-wife duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The film has some pretty big name stars. Such as, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, and Toni Collette, and was made for $10 million. After The film was screened at Sundance in 2006, fox Searchlight pictures bought the distribution rights for $10.5 million plus ten percent of the gross profit, one of the biggest deals in Sundance history. I personally thought the different characters really brought great differences to the film and kept me enthralled to keep watching. Sheryl Hoover is the mother of two kids and married to Richard Hoover. Richard is trying to support the family as a motivational speaker and has a theory to success called “The Nine Steps” the he is trying to get off the ground. Sheryl’s brother Frank is a homosexual professor that is living at home temporarily because he tried to commit suicide. Dwane, the son is a mute who refuses to talk until he can become a fighter pilot. Edwin, the grandpa is living with the family because he was recently evicted from his retirement home for snorting heroin. Olive is the daughter and the movie circles around the family trying to get to California so that Olive can compete in the little miss sunshine competition. The tensions between the family members play throughout the movie. The family travels in an old beat down yellow VW van from the 70’s, which needs to be pushed up to about to 20mph before it can be put into gear and started. Along the way the horn in the van stays on all the time, the grandpa dies in an overdose and they smuggle the body illegally to California because they don’t have time to burry it, Dwayne finds out he is color blind so he can’t fly and goes in to a turrets break down to end the muteness, but somehow the family makes it to the competition in time. Olive gets to the talent portion and performs a provocative dance that “her grandpa taught her” to Rick James’ Superfreak. Overall, the movie was very funny and entertaining. I recommend that everyone go and check this one out.

~David Michels

The Boondock Saints

For my first lived experience blog I decided to write about the film, The Boondock Saints (which came out in 1999). The film was directed by Troy Duffy and the tow main stars are Sean Patrick Flanery and Norman Reedus, who play Irish-American twins (Connor and Murphy McManus). I first saw this movie last semester and it instantly became one of my favorite movies that I have ever seen. The plot of Boondock Saints revolves around the McManus twins getting into a bar fight with 2 Russian mobsters and then the mobsters come to their “apartment” for revenge and the twins end up killing the Russians. Since the killings dealt with the mafia, Paul Smecker (William Dafoe, the guy who played the green goblin in spider-man), and FBI agent has been assigned to find the guilty party. While Smecker is solving the crime, the McManus’ decide to rid Boston of all evil (the rest of the Russian mafia along with some of the Italian mafia, including Ron Jeremy). The McManus’ friend Rocco (David Della Rocco) who is in the Italian mafia has decided to join the McManus’ quest. Smecker eventually finds out that the twins killed the mobsters in self defense and decides to help them out by giving misleading information. Whenever the McManus’ kill someone, they always place pennies on the eyes of the dead and say a prayer because of the catholic beliefs. Eventually, the Italian mafia boss, Papa Joe, strikes a deal to let Il Duce (Billy Connolly) out of jail, and kill Rocco and the McManus twins. The ending scene is when Rocco, Smecker and the McManus twins go to Papa Joe’s house and are captured by Papa Joe’s men. I won’t spoil the ending but the director, Troy Duffy, definielty sets up the movie for a sequel.
The plot was really well developed in The Boondock Saints and I also feel that the characters were also very well developed.
I feel that The Boondock Saints is an excellent movie and would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes the shooting and violent movie.

Mike Norgord

This Girl's Life

For my very first lived experience entry, I decided to watch “this girls life”. I mainly chose this movie because it was the most random, crazy, not normal movie I could find on my Netflix view it now list. The movie’s main actors include James Woods, Juliette Marquis, Kip Pardue, Tomas Arana, Michael Rapaport, and Rosario Dawson. “This Girls Life” is about a porn star that is not just your average porn star. She lives quiet the crazy life but yet she has almost all of her priorities in line. Her name, Moon, played by the one, the only, Juliette Marquis. Early in the movie you find out that Moon’s mom committed suicide a little after she was caught with another man in their house. It was said that no one ever said anything about it ever but the mom’s guilt drove her to suicide. Moon’s father is not all alone and suffering from a bad case of Parkinson’s disease. The movie progresses as moon is set up on a blind date by her friend and she surprisingly enough makes a descent connection. During her father’s birthday party her best friend proposes a deal with moon; to seduce her fiancé to see if he would remain faithful. This sparks moons imagination and gets her to later start up her own business. The Sex Investigator as she calls herself puts an ad into the newspaper and is soon swamped with phone calls. Juggling her porn career, sickly father, her sex investigating business, and her on off boyfriend, things start to fall apart. This go from bad to worse in this twisted drama directed by ASH aka Johnny Hawaiian.
There are hardly any negative influences in this movie. Everyone gets along the conflict in “This Girls Life” is really minimal. I think there was a lack in character development. There really wasn’t any great introduction to anyone else other than Moon and this made it hard to relate to anyone else in the movie. The plot really didn’t move along very fast until after Moon’s first Sexual Investigation. After that the movie started to pick up pace. Not going to lie, it was kind of boring until then. After that bad people started showing up and things got a little darker. The movie was alright but had some obvious independent features. No extremely famous actors paired with a very different plot and sup par acting really made this film a different experience compared to a movie you’d go see in the theaters that carry Hollywood films. “This girls life” wasn’t terrible and I would suggest it if you have 2 hours to spare.
Anthony T Radloff

The Squid and the Whale

The Squid and the Whale is a coming of age story about the Berkman’s and their divorce. Both Hollywood and Independent films have delt with this story line in the past, however, this family dynamic and the characters’ way of dealing with the divorce is very unique. First of all, I highly recommend this film, because it’s quirky hilarious, and touching. This film was written and directed by Noah Baumbach. Supposedly this film was based on childhood experiences of Noah Baumbach. The film takes place in Brooklyn, NY in 1986. The father Bernard Berkman, played by Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber), is a snobbish literately professor who once was a successful writer. The mother, Joan Berkman, played by Laura Linney (You can Count on Me, Kinsey), has many affairs and in the course of the film becomes a successful published author. The eldest son, Walt Berkman, played by Jesse Eisenberg, takes the side of his father during the divorce. The youngest son, Frank Berkman, played by Owen Kline (Kevin Kline’s son), takes the side of his mother during the divorce. After the parents announce to their sons of the divorce, everyone begins to gradually exhibit bizarre behavior, especially the children. Frank Berkman, my favorite character, begins to drink alcohol and most disturbingly masturbates and spreads his semen throughout the school. Frank also develops a very crude vocabulary. Walt Berkman decides to play the song Hey You, by Pink Floyd, for a talent competition and takes credit for writing it himself. He also decides to break up with his girlfriend; for fear that he could do better. He also becomes very much like his father throughout the film, until the very end. He basically disowned his mother, until the end when he realizes her importance to him when he was younger. This film, even though it has a famous cast, is still very independent. Not just because of the characters that appear in the film, or how open the parents are with their children when dealing with sex, and other issues, but also to what is chosen to be filmed. Things like Laura Linney picking skin of her lip are normally filmed in major Hollywood movies, because it really has nothing to do with the story as a whole. Also, the film doesn’t end with a big conclusion like a Hollywood film does. Some issues are resolved in the film, but it’s done in a more symbolic way, rather than it being spelled out for you, like it would be in a Hollywood film. The film ends with Walt going to see an exhibit in a museum that he could never see as a child (the Squid and the Whale), because he was too scared. All in all this movie is worth seeing.

La Vie En Rose

A few weeks ago my fiancé rented a few movies. Usually we watch comedies, action movies, The Sopranos, and of course I like my occasional Romance. But this time he comes back with an independent film entitled La Vie En Rose, the story of Edith Piaf. I was not to thrilled because the film was completely in French. But after the first two minutes of the film I was completely hooked.
Edith Piaf was a French cabaret singer and is known to be the voice of France. She had a very difficult life as she was growing up. She was abandoned by her mother and later her father. She was a party girl who spent many days and nights drunk and high. She was later discovered by a nightclub owner and after that point her career skyrocketed. I was especially drawn to the music in this movie. All of the songs except for four were original recordings of Edith Piaf. The way that they edited her music throughout the film really drew you into the story.
The film is best known for the leading actress who played Piaf, Marion Cotillard, who won an Oscar for Best actress and a Golden Globe. In my opinion she had one of the best performances that I have ever seen. She had to play different stages in Piaf’s life. When she was old it was believable. She also did an amazing job at lip-syncing which many professionals are not good at. (a.k.a Ashlee Simpson). This film also won many awards for make-up. One of the most impressive transformations in the film occurred when they had to transform Cotillard into an old woman. I watched the special features for the film and learned that it took hours for them to put on every wrinkle and age spot. The transformation really enhanced great acting proved to be amazing.
This film was written and directed by Olivier Dahan, who is “ one of the most visually exciting and emotionally adept French film makers working in the cinema today” This film was a powerful and emotion filled film. Dahan made really great transitions. It had the invisible feel like many Hollywood films have. Also the editing and adding songs performed by Piaf.
I would recommend this movie to everyone especially if you enjoy cabaret music. The French and subtitles were a little hard to get used to but after you become involved with story you forget that they are speaking a different language. I would also recommend searching you-tube for segments of Edith Piaf “the voice of France”.

~Antonina Centinario

The Beast of Bray Road and The Asylum

Released in 2005, The Beast of Bray Road is a shining example of an indie horror film. Based around the “True Story” of a mysterious wolf-man-cryptid reportedly seen around Elkhorn, WI, The Beast is a near masterpiece of budget cinema. Director Leigh Scott (born in Milwaukee!) manages to take his history of low-to-no budget filmmaking and expand upon it with the slightly larger budget provided by the company he was working for, The Asylum. Producers of such films as AVH: Alien vs. Hunter, 100 Million BC and Invasion of the Pod People, The Asylum has, since roughly 2005, specialized in making films that are near direct rip-offs(at least in title, if not in story) of Hollywood releases. AVH? Title based off of AVP: Alien vs. Predator. The stories are surprisingly similar for these two, but with other’s it’s merely a visual similarity on the cover and the title that tend to trick unwary viewers.

Valid business tactic? Legally, it is. There is no infringement, technically, but there is often a stellar lack of creativity. Of course, for any company it’s all about the bottom line, so if you make a film called Transmorphers, release it a week before Transformers and some shmuck goes into Blockbuster and rents it, thinking they’re getting the big-budget Michael Bay movie, well, too bad for them and hurray for the company. Streamlining the process has allowed The Asylum to shoot and release several movies a year for incredibly low budgets. Reusing directors, editors and actors has basically given them a corral of “talent” and experience that they can use to pump out feature length films every couple months.

As one of these rapidly made films, The Beast of Bray Road showcases the formulaic nature The Asylum uses to create films. Clearly made for a low budget, no really recognizable actors, a laughable script and locations that are clearly not in rural Wisconsin, Beast takes all of this and whips it into what is actually a semi-respectable B-movie. The visual effects are…interesting. Slightly lower quality than most Sci-Fi channel movies, the makeup and creature effects are certainly better than most college level horror films. Acting is mediocre at best, with line delivery often stilted and awkward. The cinematography is surprisingly well done, however. The cameras and lenses are clearly of mid to high quality, the lighting is generally even and well sourced and the image quality remains constant. The only low points are during many of the supposed night time scenes, when the day-for-night is poorly done, seeming to be a post manipulation of the image rather than a during shoot compensation or filtering.

Far from being the great horror breakout of 2005, The Beast of Bray Road is instead a fine example of low-budget, mass produced B Horror. The Asylum company may not be looking to make the finest films, but they have certainly committed themselves to being one of the top B movie companies. They’ve found their niche and they have dedicated themselves to running with it as long as they can. So, if you and some friends are in the mood for a night of cheap horror, grab a few of the fine films pumped out by The Asylum and get ready to enjoy a humorous evening.

Gone Baby Gone by Connor Murray

For my first lived experience blog, I have chosen to talk about Gone Baby Gone. The main reason I have chosen this movie is because Amy Ryan was nominated for actress in a supporting role and I felt that she should have won. First off I would recommend anyone to see this movie, it is about a 4-year-old girl who goes missing in Dorchester, MA a rough suburb of Boston. Private Investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro (Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan) reluctantly decide to take the case and Amy Ryan plays the drug-addicted mother of the missing girl. This is a truly gritty thriller that will not allow you relax for a second, and the ending has quite a twist. I was very impressed with Ben Affleck considering this is his directorial debut and he also co-wrote it. But I feel as though his brother may be the more talented actor after having seen this movie. Also on a smaller note, I felt the cinematography gave it somewhat of an independent feel because of the real shots of Dorchester and how rough the city really is, despite many of the big name actors. Also it was produced my Miramax which has produced many great "Indie's" that went on to make a fair amount of money.
But the main reason why I chose this movie is because of the stellar performance given by Amy Ryan. She was up against some tough competition such as, Cate Blanchett (I'm Not There), Ruby Dee (American Gangster), Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) and the winner Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton). I have seen all of these movies except I'm Not There and I truly believe that Amy Ryan should have won for Actress in a Supporting Role. Ryan threw herself into this character, from her attitude towards the cops and P.I.'s to her voice and body language, I could honestly believe that she was a drug-addict if I did not know who she was. Ryan's performance in this movie is what really stayed with me after having seen it and the is saying something considering all of the other great performances (Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan).

Daughters of the Dust

My lived experience blog post is on the film Daughters of the Dust by Julie Dash. First of all if you missed the screening of this film you should definitely attempt to see it elsewhere, my black radical cinema class went to the screening and it was by far my favorite film of that class. Julie Dash is one of the most influential and important black female filmmakers of our time and this film just goes to show how far she has come.

This film is a great transition from our last blog post about Go Fish, also an independent film made by a female filmmaker. In an essay I had to read for the black cinema class Julie states that, "all the distributors turned her down, that mostly white men were telling her, an African American woman, what her people wanted to see..." It still goes to show you that it is very difficult for women filmmakers to make the films they want and to get them seen by the general public. But in the end she obviously got to make the film, the over all budget of the film ended up being $800,000. Another important aspect of this is the fact that she is African American. Just like Spike Lee with his radical films about the black diaspora, Dash explores the culture through the eyes of multiple women both young and old. In fact the characters in the film are part of what made the film so great. There are some very different women in this film in terms of background and religious beliefs. Not to mention some pretty outstanding acting. One notable performance was by the older woman in the film. She was spectacular.

I think my two favorite things about this film though by far have got to be the shots, both compositionally and aesthetically, and the music. The shots were probably some of the most beautiful I have ever seen in any film, and I have seen A LOT of films. Dash really utilized the scenery and the sets that she was given to their fullest extent. Not to mention the costumes. The music in the film not only added to the moods of the different scenes but transported you to that place. The use of the traditional African drum coupled with a wide array of stringed instruments made for a very moving and touching score. I think it is fairly safe to say that if you want to make independent films that you watch this movie! nuff said.

Cinematic Provocateur

Unfortunately due to it’s limited stay at the Oriental and my inability to post this sooner, some of you may have missed the opportunity to see Funny Games. Some of you have at least most likely heard of it. This film remake of the original 1997 version by the same writer/director Michael Haneke had sparked a lot of controversy and had a lot of people talking. While some may have found it an un-necessary remake of it’s Austrian predecessor, as it had been remade shot for shot, Haneke stated that he had always thought the story an American appropriation.
The film is about a family of three traveling to their lakeside cottage for the weekend or week maybe. After they arrive they’re visited by two young men, very proper and dressed all in white, also dawning white gloves. These young men seem to be very polite at first but as the film progresses they begin to test the families limits and later we find out they have a whole different plan altogether. They take the family hostage and force them into humiliating and sometimes violent little “games,” eventually making them a bet that by the following morning they will be dead.
Haneke, also known for his film Cache (Hidden), states that this film is a commentary on the audience’s obsession with violence, setting up the question for each viewer to ask themselves, “why am I watching this?” However, unlike other films with similar content such as the Saw movies or Hostel, this film isn’t concerned with the on screen gore tactic as Haneke is out to shatter your soul and emotions. Some critics have dismissed this film calling it “torture porn” but as far as blood, there’s very little, and sex or nudity, nonexistent. Sorry if I spoiled that for anyone. Haneke pulls this film off with a kind of artistry in that it skips all the mainstream horror kicks and goes straight for the shear terror. I personally have always felt that a good “horror” film may not even be one within the horror genre, but one that makes the viewer truly uncomfortable and leaves no desire to ever see it again.
Allow me to quickly plug another film, widely unknown, that was made with the same intentions. It’s a 2002 french independent film by Gaspar Noe called Irreversible. This is by far one of the most shocking, almost impossible to watch, films I’d ever seen from it’s brutal rape scene to intense assault on a man’s face via fire extinguisher. However, this film also challenges the borders and poses the question, “why do we watch movies?” The story is told similar to that in Memento in that it goes in reverse chronological order, thus making the end (beginning of the story) more tragic and is shot with almost entirely with a hand held camera (= seizure) What’s also important about this independent film, and films like Funny Games, is that it presents a dose of the harshness of reality. It doesn’t soften up it’s material like most mainstream, Hollywood movies would.
So ultimately I’m saying that independent cinema and film makers, such as we’ve seen with films like Reservoir Dogs and Tarantino, are able to push the envelope and make artistic statements and commentaries in ways that Hollywood could never. I think it also says something for the audiences that choose to see these kinds of films as well. They’re not for everyone, but for those who enjoy critiquing film and looking at the medium as one would a painting, these films come with my highest of recommendation. These two films “look at the unlookable and are literally unforgettable.”