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- Cinequest 17 - Film Reviews
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- Feb. 28 - March 11, 2007 - San Jose, CA
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- (Films highlighted can be purchased online by clicking the links)
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Ars Longa
Another of the short films from the “Mirror Mirror” program - “Ars Longa” is a simple vignette of an older woman strolling calmly through a museum, admiring the art. A flash of her younger self appears before she sees a picture that truly captivates her. This picture keeps her attention fixated, as she looks from a couple of angles and smiles, turning to walk away. The picture being only a mirror. The story being a moral of memory and how we see ourselves. Even in age, beauty can remain. Simple and inviting. A good example of telling a strong tale in but a few minutes on a minor budget. |
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 Blood Car
Schlock at its modern best. What made those 70s horror films great were their serious intent delivered with such camp. That is what works for “Blood Car.” This indie film, directed by Alex Orr and starring Anna “My Girl” Chlumsky and Mike Brune is a fun romp into the camp of yesteryear, serving up generous portions of horror, humor, and political satire of our current affairs. Does it all work together? You bet! “Blood Car” bested my expectations with its over-the-top acting, a silly yet disturbingly plausible story (plausible in the most twisted of minds), and some brilliant editing work considering its indie film budget.
The film is set in the near future where gas costs hundreds of dollars to fill a tank. Only the most elite can afford to drive a car, making the cheapest of cars appear luxury if only for the fact that they can be powered down a road. The story concerns an elementary school teacher who seeks a method of clean-burning fuel to use in place of gasoline. While trying his hand at wheat grass, he cuts himself, spilling blood into the mixture that makes an engine run. It’s only later that he realizes its the blood and not the wheat grass creating the combustion. When he finds that the source runs out quickly, he abandons his life-loving ways and goes onto a killing spree to keep his car running. Plenty of humor runs between all the psuedo-violence as our poor anti-hero just wants to make good for the world, while spilling human blood. It was a joy to watch on the big screen and brought back memories of my drive-in days. (Yes, I’m old enough to remember drive-ins. They were outdoor theaters which you drove your car into, and... never mind.) Definitely a must-see destined for the cult-classic home DVD libraries.
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 Monster Camp
Portland, OR filmmaker Cullen Hoback's sophomore effort. "Monster Camp" delves into the world of LARPing to tell a tale of outcasts in their struggle to maintain their fantasy world, let alone exist in the real world. For the uninitiated, LARP stands for Live Action Role Playing - basically D&D in the real world level where the player wears the costumes and acts out the roles, leaving the dice and trinkets at home. There are many facets to LARPing, and this film examines the lives of one of the weekend communes. The story itself is woven to talk about people and their needs for escapism, and how that relates to the world around them. There are certainly much better groups to belong to other than the Nero Chapter who is the focus of "Monster Camp," but given Cullen's penchant for the underdog, the subject group within the film works to the best example.
The Nero Chapter is a rag-tag group of sops and slackers who find the need to escape into a world of make-believe. What doesn't work for me is that this group is really very low-rent. The costumes are haphazard at best, and there is a constant struggle to maintain the group from every angle. Not the best organized bunch. What I found is that I personally did not care so much for any of the characters in the film, as there really is no resolve in the end. Gamers become frayed and disarrayed, and try to fit in both in the LARP world, as well as the real world. What did stand out, is the acceptance factor. Not many other groups - especially close accuracy battle reenactments - would take a handicapped person in, in this case a woman in a wheelchair. This added a sense of moral fair play to the group. And also, in fairness, the gamers themselves do try. They enjoy what they do and have fun with it. This is a side-step away from the hard-core LARP'ers who go full stride in functional, detailed costumes and armory, and enable themselves into full on battle situations (most likely without sharpened swords).
"Monster Camp" itself is a well pieced together documentary in Cullen Hoback's signature whimsical style, most noticable in the choice of jazzy experimental background music. The film is upbeat and fun, entertaining and enticing. What it may not do, is convince the viewer to want to join a LARP group such as the one covered. It does offer up some background into gaming procedures and why it exists, but not to the point where it becomes the central focus. At just over one hour, we get to watch this obtuse batch of misfits create fantasy characters, act out D&D commands, and see how it all fits together. Enjoyable.
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 The Namesake
The meshing of cultures is not always easy, but can bring some beauty along with hardships to the lives of those involved. That is the setting of this excellently presented story directed by Mira Nair (“Mississippi Masala”). The story begins in India on a train in a scene that sets the moral for later. Shortly after, Ashima is betrothed to Ashoke and they both leave Calcutta behind to begin anew in New York. Life is not easy for the couple, especially after having two children - an older boy named Gogol / Nicky (played by Kal Pen “White Castle”), and his younger sister. The story continues as the children grow up and Gogol begins to come into his own. Being American-raised, Gogol wants to live life as an American including having a talkative, expressive blond girlfriend - against his parents’ best wishes - and moving in a direction away from his family. When tragedy strikes, Gogol realizes what he has left behind and wants to return, but things are never the same, especially when you never knew the customs and heritage to begin with.
The only downside is that the story continues further, almost making one wonder how many generations it was going to cover. At just over 2 hours in length, the film feels a bit too long, but is overall satisfactory in that sense. The story is well-written, and brought to the screen with emotion and humor along with the drama. It genuinely showcases how Indian and American cultures can clash, but ultimately any big city can look the same, especially for families that sometimes live alternately on opposite sides of the world connecting by travel. One day could be New York out the window, the next could be Calcutta. Either way, there is a throng of human bodies all busy doing things. Well done, well acted, and exceptionally presented.
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 Regarding Sarah
An aging Sarah finds that she is losing her memory. In an attempt to validate her life and keep some sanity, she turns to modern technology - recording herself. At first this seems like a simple hobby, which turns more into a consuming obsession as Sarah buys more and more video cameras, computer editing equipment, and monitors, eventually living her life solely for the purpose of watching herself.This takes away from any actual living as Sarah comes to the conclusion that it’s all too much and goes back to her simple ways. The dilema remains as Sarah ponders what meaning her life has if she cannot remember it. The writing is creative and the character of Sarah is blandly enticing as someone who seems practical while losing her mind in a variety of directions, all while seeming calmly sane. Very well done short film. |
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 Skinheads
A short film concerning the annoying arrival of neo-Nazi skinheads to the home of Boy and his Mother. Boy considers that he must be important to have garnered the attention of skinheads, and figures that they must know he is an excellent negotiator. He sets out to find their “master plan” while while talking with a couple of the rather aloof skins. This was one of the strangest comedy shorts I have seen in a long time, and one to not miss. Cleverly written, with exceptional characterizations, “Skinheads” will keep you chuckling and stay in your memory for a while to come.
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- Written by Philip Anderson
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Philip Anderson is a musician, in addition to being a writer/photographer. He has performed as a guitarist/vocalist, as well as songwriter, in several bands over the past 20 years. As a writer and photographer, he has been published by several magazines and in several books, and had his works appear on television. |
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