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FYOS Events #2 and #3

Event #2:

I went to one of the film/Q&A sessions they had at Tate during Sustainability Week. The film in question was "The Real Dirt with Farmer John". I was skeptically at the beginning of the movie about taking anything away from it because the main character was a bit eccentric for my tastes, but the film turned out to be really interesting. The movie followed the life of the eponymous John and his relationship with the farm he inherited from his family. We see the farm transform from the typical breadbasket farm to a sort of Mecca and drug haven for disenfranchised artists in the 70s and then re transform into an organic communal farm supported by the entire community. The movie really makes you ponder where exactly your food comes from and how it's produced. The Q&A afterwards was somewhat interesting as they presented information about UGA's own sustainable farm not too far from campus (I think it's on Milledge?) and opportunities to volunteer there.

Event #3:

I went to a disability awareness event that my RA was hosting. The focus was on the deaf and hearing impaired, but it covered other disabilities in general. We were given statistics on the number of students (and even faculty) that are impaired as so. There was a a simulation sort of thing where we got are ears plugged with cotton balls and were asked to repeat back what the RA was lecturing to us. I failed miserably and that helped me realize how difficult it must be to live with that everyday. The tone of the seminar was sad however because the RA showed us a lot of success stories from UGA and beyond. Then we got pizza.

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The Incident Review

The combination of beautiful scenery and the grim events of this story made it a good one despite the 30 minute length of it. Despite it's runtime, I managed to pay attention to the whole thing and would even go so far to say I was engrossed in the plot.

Basically, a man in accidentally kills a man in a park after a struggle over a bike. What results is a 30 minute documentary on one man's struggle to continue with the normal events of life.

The ominous music in the beginning definitely helped develop the tone of the film as nothing good can come from a film that starts with a happy couple embracing to sad music. Sound in general is highly relevant to the film as normal everyday noises are accentuated and amplified. From crying babies to ticking clocks, everything seems louder and more echoey. This further added to the feeling that I was inside the main character's head.

The camera work is fantastic in depicting the man's inability to connect with real life anymore. Much of the film focuses on him in close up or midrange and blurs the surrounding areas. This could show how out of place he currently is with the world and his struggles to reconnect with it.

But since this short was paired with Nolan's Doodlebug this week, I'm forced to question the events of the film. Did they really happen or was it all a metaphor again for human emotion? Then the dead body would stand for something secret buried deep within the man that only he can see and that he is completely guilty of causing. (This would explain why NO ONE ever finds the body, even though it's in pretty plain site under that bridge...).

Again, I can't be 100% sure and I dunno how I'd go about even attempting to prove that, but it's an interesting thought.

Doodlebug Review

First things first, Doodlebug is very Christopher Nolan. Even if I hadn't been told it was directed by him, I would have gotten that vibe immediately after watching it. It's strange, weird, and a little bit difficult to understand, so it's very much a Nolan affair.

Immediately, we are given insight about the man due to his shifty eyes that form the o's of Doodlebug. Darting back and forth, this immediately invokes a "paranoid" feeling.

That aside, we have a man attempting to catch and kill something in his house. While initially we don't know WHAT, we have a feeling that it's probably important to this man as he immediately dives and sprawls himself on anything that even remotely appears to move. The ominous music (very reminiscent of Inception) and black and white enhance the vaguely creepy. The ticking clock and dunked phone make the short seem almost surreal in a way.

Suddenly, our man finds his prey which appears in the form of a smaller version of the man. After a few missed attempts whacking it, he finally succeeds only to be squashed in return.

Important to note are the mirrored actions of the smaller man compared to the larger one. The smaller man's actions are mirrored by the larger man who appears to be hunting something himself (and his prey is probably hunting and so on...) in sort of rabbit hole like sequence that is very Christopher Nolan. Our narrator is obviously not mentally well, but how exactly isn't explained. Perhaps schizophrenia or something of the sort. This brings into question the validity of the situation. Is the man actually chasing anything or is all an illusion? I can't really tell, because a la Nolan, the end left ambiguous and slightly confusing.

Post It Love Review

Cute film with cute people doing cute things to cute music. This is a film that PROBABLY wasn't targeted at my demographic, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

The film starts up with two people mirroring each other at copiers on opposite sides of a partition. A casually glance to the side results in these two falling in love. Disbelief aside, this was a really well thought out scenario. The film is only 3 minutes long so not a lot of time can be spent showing you how well this couple goes together through dialogue (in fact, there is none in this short). The solution is to show you how similar they are through their actions, which are very similar, making them compatible (Rom com logic....).

As the short progresses post it note gestures get more grandiose and creative as each person in this non verbal relationship tries to show the other the depth of heir respective feelings. The music gets cuter as the actions get cuter.

The results in the man creating a giant post it note wall of their two faces as an ultimate testament to their unspoken love. Fittingly, the woman is speechless.

I feel like this shirt is poking fun at the almost unsocial ways that modern relationships bud and bloom. These two people habitat the same workplace, but won't speak to each other and reveal their feelings. This parallels the use of Facebook and text messaging as a substitute for good old fashion conversation. Or maybe not?

The best part of the short is the sign next to the paper supply room.

"CAN YOU PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT STATIONERY YOU TAKE IS SOLELY FOR WORK PURPOSES.

THANK YOU."

Is the passive aggressive management commenting on the events at hand or is this form of romantic gesture common on this office?

Bean Cake Review

I enjoyed Bean Cake. It's a really cute movie that uses Japanese culture to spice up what would otherwise be a conventional coming-of-age story.

We are introduced to Uchida Taro, a new transfer student to the 4th grade. We immediately can connect with him because of his awkward dress clothes and buck teeth (which is in obvious contrast to the clean cut modern students of the city). He both personifies and exemplifies everyone's fear of not fitting in on the first day.

Taro is then asked by the teacher what the most important thing in the world is. Being the juvenile he is, he immediately answers bran cake and is kicked out of class. Bean cake can be seen as a stand in for the materialistic focuses of childhood. Taro is ridiculed for his poor answer by his classmates and teacher who have moved past such materialism and now view the world in a broader way.

Taro is unable to see this until he makes the acquaintance of a friendly female student. It is then that Taro is able to see what is really important in life and is able to "conform".

The film was interesting in its setting in that the setting does not have a huge impact on the story. You could take Taro out of 1933 Tokyo and put him in the present day and tell the same story. It brings to question why the director and writer chose to make it take place when and where it does.

Cashback

Not to compare one piece of media to another, but this short feels a lot like a British version of Kevin Smith's Clerks. We're presented with a group of people unhappy with their jobs and we watch how each copes with it. Through this, we watch characters develop and, hopefully, succeed.

What I liked most about this film was the almost omnipotent level of power the narrator appeared to have within the context of the story. He's free to freeze time, slow down time, and even mentally undress female customers so that he may dra them. Wait, what? This film takes a surprising turn about three fourths through. Done with the descriptions of his odd coworkers, we are given a genuine glimpse into the actual thoughts of our protagonist who yearns to escape the slave labor of the night shift and become an artist. What I noticed immediately about his art, however, was the lack of faces on his drawings and the lack of facial focus on any of his models in general. His sketches depict inky the torso, often cutting off right at the head.

I enjoyed the short. It was half good-natured fun (who doesn't want to see their jerk boss get hit in the face with milk?) and half introspective look into what we suffer through to obtain are innermost desires. Plus, I like films that say the title in context. Bonus points.

For Our Man

This short felt a lot like a Youtube video made by someone who was wrongly told anyone with a camera and Final Cut Pro could make a short film.

It's just entirely strange. Man robbing a bank wearing a badly made lady's wig. Cut to omniscient looking sage figure. Cut to baby. Cut to man slipping on barbecue Lays. Bullets popping balloons and popping off baby caps. Seriously, what was going on the director's mind?

This film felt scatterbrained and I feel that just because we as viewers feel that way doesn't mean the director did his job well. What irked me most about this was the unnecessarily long length of the film, the non-sequitur nature of the film, and the poorly executed film tropes the director attempts to use to fool us into believing this could be considered art. Slow close ups of falling leaves and fades to black are used, but for no true purpose.

Maybe I'm being a bit short and focusing on the negative, rather than promoting the positive, but this short was a failed attempt at being meta and I did not enjoy it.

I'll also put money on the fact that the old man featured so prominently is our director. This film would require a certain amount of narcissism to even think of.

Morning Fall

This is a short about a man on a motorbike who hits a deer.

The short attempts to leave us as disoriented as its main character by opening in the middle of a serene field with shots of trees, a bunny, then a man in a bike helmet who appears to be dead. The viewer is the forced to make sense of what exactly what happened along with the protagonist. It's kind of like The Hangover, except not terrible.

What I noticed immediately was the lack of background music. It's highly disorienting and being forced to listen to the ambient sounds nature alone is a bit creepy. Also noted was the man's intense desire to find an incendiary device for his cigarette while doing nothing about his cranial bleeding.

Half way through, we are introduced to the deer that caused the whole ruckus. Eyes open and mouth agape, the viewer and protagonist are unable to look at it and are forced to cover its face with a jacket.

The main character then passes out in the street and is rescued by a mysterious person who we are never introduced to (Perhaps because our main character doesn't remember the face as he's clearly suffering from some serious amnesia...). The savior is only characterized by the fuzzy dice and cross on the rear view mirror. Also strange is the man is suddenly bandaged without any sort of indication of when or who did it.

The ending is a surprise twist in which the protagonist calls his beloved to tell him of his accident. We then cut back to the deer and obviously dead woman lying dead in the grass. Interesting to note is like the deer, her eyes are open and obviously frightened, Is the director trying to draw some sort of parallel here?

The short was sad, and a bit disorienting, but I believe that was the intended effect.

Sooner or Later

This short was a bit confusing to me. While the concept is incredibly interesting, it took a couple viewings for me to actually understand what was going on.

It appears that Nazis are working on a serum for time travel and testing it on a poor, defenseless prisoner. Through the powers of time travel, our protagonist saves himself and escapes. This, however, is a very simplistic synopsis of the film and does not justice to the intricacies of the piece.

We have clearly defined roles at the beginning of the film. We have the vocal portly Nazi guard and the somewhat emaciated prisoner. Setting is established bu the bleakness of the bunker and the shooting and shelling going on overhead.

Our Nazi antagonist realizes his prisoner has time traveling based on a cigarette in the ash tray, water in a glass, and an unbuttoned shirt. This prompts the viewer to begin noticing minute details in the film in an attempt to piece together what's happening. (Like the multiple cigarette butts in the ash tray at the end that signifies that this time loop has happened MULTIPLE times.)

Also interesting is the very different characters we are introduced to while only having 2. The director uses time travel create three stages of character from one actor. We are presented with a meek, mild, and mute prisoner subject to the will of his captors. Next, we have the defiant attempted escapee who procures a gun from his dead captor and even threatens to shoot him. Finally, the liberated and empowered escapee who uses his knowledge to spring himself from his past situation.

I can't really make a solid theme out of this film, but I wondered at the end of this wasn't some sort of escape fantasy the prisoner made up in order to cope with the cruelty he experiences at the hands of his Nazi captive.

Gridlock

I've seen Gridlock before. I found it on StumbleUpon under my humor subcategory. I remember it being really funny in a sick kind of way at the time, but upon viewing it again, I found it a bit sad and unrealistic. More on that later.

Our story starts with a man stuck in traffic. We immediately identify with him because we've been stuck in traffic before.This man is a very angry man. He pops pills and curses like a sailor. This man's irrational anger at an unavoidable situation is understandable, but yelling at other motorists, jumping at police lights, and dropping the word "asshole" more times than I knew was decently possible isn't completely. (These quick bursts of anger are perfect for characterizing our protagonist.) To bide the time and cool his engines, her decides to call his daughter. Bad choice. His call to his daughter sets off a Rube Goldberg machine based on infidelity and swimming pools. Having heard that his wife is upstairs with Uncle "Wim" (Is this a play on words with the word "Whim" and a commentary on the little amount of thought that goes into adultery?) He decides to play a trick on her that results in her lying dead on the bathroom floor, Wim in a pool dead, and a family less daughter. In a twist ending, we find out the man has dialed the wrong number.

I can't suspend my disbelief for this short. What sort of father doesn't know his own daughter's voice? Why is he able to call and have a conversation with a young girl he has never met so easily? The complete unraveling of the entire situation based on yelling "Daddy's home!" is also highly suspect. However, maybe it isn't. Our protag has some major issues besides the swearing and pill addiction. It is HIGHLY possible to assume this man is having his own marriage troubles of he can so easily be led to believe his wife is cheating on him. It appears that a plethora of insecurities plague the man and his family.

The Lunch Date

The Lunch Date is cute and sweet and I like it no matter what anyone says.

Plot: A well-to-do woman misses a train due to a literal run in with a homeless man. While waiting for the next available train, she orders a salad, hastily pays for it, and attempts to peacefully dine on it. Unfortunately, a perceived homeless man is eating is dining on the salad too and hilarity ensues. In the end, we find out it was not her own salad she was dining on, but the man in question's.

Plot summary aside, there were a few things in this film that I picked up on and that made the story a bit more cohesive and A LOT more rewarding:

Visuals: This film is obviously in black and white. Also important to note is the retro, early twentieth century look that the short exudes. From the clothing of the people in what appears to be Grand Central to the the opening title card, the short obviously does not take place in the present. What's great about this is that the film was shot in the 90's. Also, we are shown in detail the contrasting images of white wealth vs. black poverty

Audio: The phonographic style music of this piece is key to developing the underlying theme. While our apparent protagonist walks through Grand Central with her Bloomingdale's bags, we are treated to an upbeat horn and string combination in a major key. The music becomes softer and more intimate when the man returns with coffee and the viewer almost feels like they are intruding on a private moment. After her lunch date, the happy go-lucky music returns and all is well in the world again.

I believe the underlying theme is appearance versus reality and the foolishness behind making assumptions based on first impressions. The woman returns from fetching a fork to see a man she believes is eating her salad. Her own indignation and haughtiness towards the situation prevents her from simply asking what is going on. Based on her interactions with other people of similar appearance, she makes a hasty judgement about her homeless companion. It is only because of the man's great humility and kindness that complete awkwardness is avoided. We hope our protag learns a lesson from her encounter.

The Crush Review

Not to sound overly emotional/feminine/etc., but this short was adorable because no one has NOT been in the situation of having a ridiculous crush on someone out of their league. Of course, this was my INITIAL reaction, having no knowledge of how twisted this short really was.

I knew who our protagonist was immediately die to the radiant glow shining on him in the middle of a classroom and his look of utter longing and dopey smile directed towards the front of the classroom: A look I didn't even know a kid of no more than 8 was capable of making.

What also struck me were the three words on the board. "Reveal", "Pretend", and "Love". While a little on the nose metaphorically, these words are no doubt important to the overall them of the short. The brightness of Ms. Pardy's pinkish sweater in comparison to the other dull tones also struck me. I would also remiss to not mention the obvious naming of our object of desire "Ms. Purdy".

Ardal's sincerity and love for Ms. Purdy is at times genuinely frightening. When challenging Ms. Purdy's "dickhead" fiance (complete with greasy long hair and leather jacket) to a duel, the look on his face is chilling. I knew something was about to go down when the camera wobbly zoomed in and back on the fiance revealing Ardal in the handball court. Ardal delivers his lines stoically and adamantly, revealing his complete seriousness and devotion to Ms. Purdy. This seriousness clashes with his innocence and the obvious lack of knowledge with a gun in the way he holds it.

Tensions escalate and camera shots gets closer and faster paced as Ardal draws out a confession from the "dickhead". It is not until the end that the spelling words written on the chalkboard turn into a 3 word synopsis for the short. Ardal's affections are rewarded with a intimate walk with Ms. Purdy under an arch of fall foliage into the distance. He finally gets what he's been pining over.

Get That Number Review

The short opens on a city block that that could be any city in the United States. We are dropped into an urban an environment and shown how a typical social interaction in the city plays out. A well off, apparently attractive male with dreads stands on the sidewalk when a homeless man and 2 woman approach him. Dreads sends the homeless man packing and flirts casually with the 2 attractive women who give him a $5 bill with their number on it.

The callousness of the dreadhead to the homeless man struck me deeply. He didn't even have the common decency to look him in the face during his rejection. Giving the homeless man was less an act of charity than an act of contempt towards the random ladies who hit on him.

We are then introduced to Scottie, a white kid in an urban environment who appears to be trying to immerse himself in the African American culture. Through his conversations with the dreadhead we were introduced to early, we see James characterized as someone whose self made identity is completely inappropriate and unfitting (Scottie being a well off Jewish boy in the city trying to be black). The viewer is forced to watch Scottie flounder as he attempts to get numbers from various ladies. While his dreadhead friend seems to have hitting on women down to science, Scottie seems to be having a bit of a problem. Thankfully though, Scottie finally meets his ideal girl in an art gallery when he stops trying to meet girls with lines and is genuine for the first time in the film. After a madcap chase through the city streets, Scottie manages to get her number, but ends up losing it at the end of the film due to an unfortunate open window.

One funny aspect of the short is the somewhat ironic relationship between Scottie and his friend. Conversations between them consist of playful banter and quick cutting shots that may represent the fluidity and comfort they have with each other. Dreads plays the suave, debonair half while Scottie plays the comedic, but sincere relief. To, they represent the two extremes of men looking for women: One being able to attract them all and wanting none, and one being able to attract none wanting just one.

Zen and the Art of Landscaping Review

Zen is funny short because of how completely antithetical its title is compared to its plot and its unabashing view at the true complexity and inner workings of suburban American society.

Zen starts off like an episode of an ABC midweek lineup. In the first 10 minutes, we're introduced to a shirtless, hunky landscaper (Greg/Zen) and a frustrated housewife (Jean) who invites our protag inside "for a drink". Inside, we see the typical American home complete with ticking clock and wooden furnished kitchen. It is when Zen discovers vodka in his orange juice that things get a bit wacky. We see everything about the American dream go down hill in a strange mass of coincidence and misfortune. Jean, the body conscious mother, is attempting to sabotage her marriage by making it seem like she's having an affair. Andy reveals himself to be gay and Richard is having an affair and reveals that Andy is adopted. Each situation connects to the next in Rube Goldberg like contraption.

Personally, I see this short film as a send up of the perfect suburban family. Each character reveals themselves to be an archetype gone wrong due to their lies, deceptive acts, and personal flaws. What seems to be a perfect family from the outside is really a spiteful group of people living under one roof. What really seals this them for me is the closing. We are shown a closeup of a family portrait and see the family standing as one as Zen keeps the a bay with his weed whacker. The goal of these shots is to remind you that as messed up as these characters are, they are still a family.

The Big Shave Review

First things first, I had immediately high expectations for The Big Shave after the credit for director scrolled by. Just a small, unknown director named Martin Scorsese who definitely did not go on direct movies like Goodfellas and Taxi Driver known for films that are unabashedly violent and with characters who often times exhibit sociopathic tendencies.

The first 3 minutes of the video are mundane and honestly, slightly boring. We are forced to watch a man shave. The strangest part may be that he is shaving his face, which is baby smooth and lacks any hint of facial hair, and the completely white bathroom, lacking any sort of decorative features.

At around 3:35 is when you begin to notice something incredibly strange occurs and the film takes a steep downward spiral. Our character appears to nastily cut himself shaving, yet continues to shave. Soon, each razor swipe is producing a rivulet of blood that stains the white porcelain environment that is the bathroom. The man completes his shaving ritual and triumphantly sets down his razor in a puddle of his own blood.

This movie confused me until I looked up its backstory on the internet. It was filmed in 1967 (during the Vietnam War) and in fact, it's alternate title is Viet '67. It is only armed with this information that this short begins to make sense.

The man's masochistic shaving tendencies represent the self destructive involvement of the United States in Vietnam. Despite our obvious knowledge of our own wrong doing, we continued to take action in the conflict (Scorsese compares us to the man who cuts himself, but continues to shave, cutting himself even more...) . The white porcelain bathroom splashed with blood may represent America's once pure morals being corrupted by the needless shedding of our own blood.

Only with backstory and context does Scorsese's rather strange short unfold itself and become a commentary on American society.

The BEST Pixar short.

Geri's Game (1997)

Dir: Jan Pinkava

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