Monday 06/11/06
Anthropology 101 2*
I was quite up for the double bill of alternative media politics that was billed for Monday night. Unfortunately I found this opening short to be, quoting my notes from the night:
"Pretentious cack of the worst kind,"
The two stars I gave this piece were in recognition of the concept, which I liked.
The three stars I didn't give it were in recognition of what was done with that concept.
So it's an alien beginners class in the fall of humanity, a kind of educational documentary about our planet and us.
Now this could be a very interesting way of trying to hold up a completely objective mirror to the world, a way to let you look in from outside.
Unfortunately I found myself continually irritated by the familiarity of everything I heard. It's as if this unseen alien race learned everything they knew about earth from hanging out with white, western, middle class pseudo-radical-wannabe teenagers.
I'm the first to admit that I'm being pretty hard on this piece, particularly as, in the great scheme of things, I probably am actually on board with most of the ideals behind the work.
The reason this film wound me up so much is this:
for any of the issues highlighted in the film to be successfully addressed popular support has to be established,
this kind of pretentious, unoriginal reiteration achieves nothing other than turning people off the important issues,
which brings me nicely on to...
On Air (France, 2006) 4*
...a relief!
Also a little pretentious this much longer study of the alternative media landscape of the US shone by letting the people involved do almost all the talking.
Those people involved were the best thing about the film in more ways than one.
While what they had to say was very interesting and even exciting to me, the fact that they didn't all agree was somehow even better.
The 'alternative media' was not presented as that single label may suggest. What I found fascinating and refreshing was learning about a scene that, at times, does indeed seem to move as one, and yet, on the ground, is actually made up of lots of different groups with different goals and agendas.
Despite the various figures and episodes that demonstrate how tight the grip of big business around the throat of the media is in the US, this was ultimately an uplifting film.
Something commented upon towards the end of the film is the lack of popular movements and there is even comment as to suggest that this may be, in part, due to an inability to communicate effectively, (see above!)
What really excited me however was the suggestion, when talking about current protest and struggle for change, that no, it isn't like the sixties now, however it is like the build up to the sixties.
All that's missing is for the radical to move back into the mainstream as more and more people become disillusioned.
It seems that there are people out there, keeping the candles burning at the fringe so that, when we recognise the folly of our ways, we do in fact have somewhere to go.
Another large scale re-emergence of the counter culture? I can but hope...
Tuesday 07/11/06
Splinter (UK, 2005) 3*
I was quite excited about this film, a low budget, British sci fi thriller about thoughts being laid bare.
Another very nice concept, (there seems to be no shortage of good ideas out there!) wherein a couple of scientists create a machine that can read people's thoughts.
Also some great performances, genuinely funny, exciting, disturbing etc. as we see the whole gamut of human experience played out in an office block.
I felt ultimately disappointed however as I found myself waiting for the film to get going all the way through.
The plot was slow, occasionally twisting for no apparent reason.
Yet again you can everything else right but if it's not written well, you're fucked.
Hammer & Tickle (France / Canada 2006) 4*
A documentary detailing the history of Russian Communism from the revolution through to the end of the cold war, sounds like a right barrel of laughs doesn't it?
Well, looking back once more to the comments regarding communication above, the best thing about this film was that it was exactly that.
The simply premise here was that the jokes told in a particular time and place provide a unique insight into what's happening there and then.
They tell you what people were talking about, and how they regarded different people and things.
The jokes come animated, sounded over stock footage and even told straight out by the wide array of experts and witnesses interviewed and all to great effect.
Turning material that is at best terribly dry and at worst terribly dark into something accessible and even fun is grand achievement indeed.
I laughed a lot and I gained a whole new perspective on both Russia and the Communist system.
And yes, I'll repeat one of the jokes, this one seemed to be resurrected for every leader but we'll start with Jo:
Two guys are standing line waiting for bread.
First guy says, "I'm sick of this, someone should do something, I'm going to kill Stalin!"
He storms off.
The second guy continues to queue for another hour of so until he sees the first guy coming back.
"So," he asks the first guy, "did you kill Stalin?"
"No," answers the first guy, "that queue was even longer."
And so on.
