The End of the Line...

 We had a chance to watch a few interesting films this past week in many different genres.

"Tiny Katerina"  was another Cinema Verite where life is filmed purely from voyeur standpoint without any script or acting.  Katerina lived with her family in Siberia and the film showed how they lived on a day to day basis in both summer and winter climates.  It was honestly kind of odd to see Siberia without any snow on the ground as was depicted in the early moments of the film, but it quickly grew colder and as thing progressed.  Katerina and her brother were very adult-like in their actions...obviously in that kind of environment, everyone has to pitch in as soon and as much as they can.  The oil rigs that sprout up at the end were ominous to say the least.  Sad to see that both wildlife and human habitats are affected by that sort of thing.

Chel White's "Choreography of a Copy Machine" was shot in a very modern looking way.  I feel like not every image in the film was a shot strictly from a copy machine, but I definitely still thought it was a very innovative idea.

Chris Landreth's "Ryan" was pretty much the culmination of our entire class as it was a mash up of many of the genres we've learned.  Documentary, Animation, and even Avant Garde in the sense that this was a pretty unusual film.  The animation was incredible.  The imagination needed to manufacture the look of those characters is pretty amazing.  It was a sad story, but one that is better told than left unsaid.

"Let The Kitties In, Give Them Luncheon."

Grey Gardens was a very well done documentary because of its very refreshing and honest nature.  Big and Little Edie were great in that they were completely genuine humans who marched to their own drum.  I'm sure there are people who liked to watch this film because they're "weird" or "crazy" but I think it's actually kind of beautiful that there are people like this in such a cookie cutter world.

You could sense that Little Edie gave up on her life a bit by allowing herself to be tied down with her mother, but It also kind of seemed she belong there as well.  They were both peas in a pod.  To see two women brought up in such an aristocratic way, lose their priviledge, and still carry on like nothing changed was pretty interesting.  I wonder if they would have acted the same way if they were both from the poor part of town?

It's a great story how a Jackie O documentary spawned the chance meeting of the filmmakers Albert and David Maysles and the Beales.  The use of cinema verite that was the basis of this production provides about as close of a glimpse of truth that can be derived from film.

There have been adaptions for both stage and screen thanks to the fascination of the Beales to "normal" society. Cinema Verite Such as the film "Don't Look Back" starring Bob Dylan are a fantastic glimpse into life outside of most people's cereal box worlds.