- Joined
- Feb 8, 1999
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- 18,563
- Real Name
- Robert Harris
I found the time to watch two films this weekend, and I thought I'd offer a short report on them as they are both outside the main stream of filmmaking -- Vincent Gallo's Brown Bunny and Mike Figgis' Hotel.
While I had heard and read too much about Brown Bunny, I was almost totally unaware of Hotel.
Both of these films might be categorized as "experimental," which made them an interesting pairing.
I've been a fan of Mr. Figgis' work since Stormy Monday in 1988, and have seems most of his films in the intervening years. With Time Code he took up a more experimental mode, and Hotel continues in that vein, albeit with less success.
As far as I can tell, Hotel is ostensibly about a group of filmmakers working on the production of a new version of The Dutchess of Malfi in Venice via the dogme style of filmmaking.
There are a number of stories going on in this film, and I'd be lying if I said that I understood what they were really about. One follows a group of what appear to be canabilistic vampire types who may be preying on the actors.
Other than that I really can't explain much of what I viewed.
What I did come away with, however, was the feeling that I was viewing some sort of grand experiment, and wondering where it might be going. At the very least the film gets you thinking. Ultimately, while style did not survive over content, the style was clearly in force. And while the viewer may not come away feeling rewarded, there is at least that note of being there while something that should be seen is going on.
For those who might want to take a chance on an oddball film from a very talented and creative filmmaker, Hotel is a recommended rental.
On the other hand, for Brown Bunny...
While I had heard and read too much about Brown Bunny, I was almost totally unaware of Hotel.
Both of these films might be categorized as "experimental," which made them an interesting pairing.
I've been a fan of Mr. Figgis' work since Stormy Monday in 1988, and have seems most of his films in the intervening years. With Time Code he took up a more experimental mode, and Hotel continues in that vein, albeit with less success.
As far as I can tell, Hotel is ostensibly about a group of filmmakers working on the production of a new version of The Dutchess of Malfi in Venice via the dogme style of filmmaking.
There are a number of stories going on in this film, and I'd be lying if I said that I understood what they were really about. One follows a group of what appear to be canabilistic vampire types who may be preying on the actors.
Other than that I really can't explain much of what I viewed.
What I did come away with, however, was the feeling that I was viewing some sort of grand experiment, and wondering where it might be going. At the very least the film gets you thinking. Ultimately, while style did not survive over content, the style was clearly in force. And while the viewer may not come away feeling rewarded, there is at least that note of being there while something that should be seen is going on.
For those who might want to take a chance on an oddball film from a very talented and creative filmmaker, Hotel is a recommended rental.
On the other hand, for Brown Bunny...