I saw Jem Cohen's feature Chain, a few years ago, and the film has stayed with me. I keep finding myself describing it to people, trying to convey the queasy horror of being trapped in architectural hells like food courts and retail arcades. Sadly, the film still doesn't have distribution, so when I say "You should definitely watch Chain," you can't obey me.
Still, I stumbled across some of his short work on YouTube. Let's have a look at "Free", a commission by Renew Media.
I enjoy the music and the street photography - figuring out which people stand out to me as they walk by. If you like Elliott Smith, you can also watch Cohen's short film with live performances, Lucky Three. It's about 11 minutes long, well worth it.
In everything I've seen so far, a few words come consistently to mind: intimate, immediate, "gritty" - these feel like huge cliches, but the guy is not employing a team of makeup artists and stylists to manufacture a slick image. He is shooting ordinary people in ordinary light, and the way they interact with the rooms and streets and buildings around them in ordinary time. He makes you want to keep watching them, and feel something about them and the places they are in. The simplicity is deceptive.
Showing posts with label black and white. Show all posts
Showing posts with label black and white. Show all posts
Monday, April 20, 2009
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Death to the Tinman
A student recommended Ray Tintori's Death to the Tinman to me, and it's become one of my favorite films. The filmmakers found creative and low-cost ways to make beautiful, haunting images. The original music is outstanding, and available for download. The story is creepy, romantic, sad, and funny and fits right into my love of dark and messed-up fairy tales. A++
Muppets Over Time
Friend Tasha R. recommends Muppets Over Time, dir. by Oury Atlan, Thibaut Berland, Damien Ferrie. It's eerie and beautiful and I don't want it to ever happen to me.
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