In a pair of indies this week, Brazilian director Kleber Mendonça Filho reflects on the neighborhoods and movie houses of his home city while Daisy Ridley downshifts from 'Star Wars' to a small drama.
It is a shame that Sometimes I think About Dying doesn't seem great. I really liked the short film but when I heard it was being adapted I wondered how you could possibly flesh it out to full length without losing the power of it's central message.
One thing that turned me off about SITAD was the score. On its own, it was fine, but the lush strings felt atonal in a film about depression. I was at a post-screening Q&A where the director said the soundtrack was supposed to depict Fran's inner world, and I thought, "Really? That's what she hears when she thinks about hanging herself from a crane?"
When I saw the trailer for Sometimes I Think About Dying, I felt I'd been transported to an indie theater from the early-mid aughts, when the marquees were crowded with muted Searchlight dramedies about awkward people, offbeat professions, and death. She Came to Me triggered a similar flashback, and so did the walkaround relationship dynamics of Past Lives. I don't know if this is enough to constitute a genre resurgence, but I'm wondering if we should be on the lookout for Ed Burns and Mark Duplass sightings--just in case.
Have you seen other films of his, Craig? As I wrote in the review, there’s so many references to his two Recife-set features that I wonder how the doc would play to folks new to his work.
They’re both excellent, and I think worth seeing before the doc. It’ll enhance your appreciation for sure. (And make sure you watch them with good sound. He’s a genius with that.)
It is a shame that Sometimes I think About Dying doesn't seem great. I really liked the short film but when I heard it was being adapted I wondered how you could possibly flesh it out to full length without losing the power of it's central message.
Others like it more than me. I really wanted to like it more because it has a lot going for it, including a Julee Cruse song.
One thing that turned me off about SITAD was the score. On its own, it was fine, but the lush strings felt atonal in a film about depression. I was at a post-screening Q&A where the director said the soundtrack was supposed to depict Fran's inner world, and I thought, "Really? That's what she hears when she thinks about hanging herself from a crane?"
When I saw the trailer for Sometimes I Think About Dying, I felt I'd been transported to an indie theater from the early-mid aughts, when the marquees were crowded with muted Searchlight dramedies about awkward people, offbeat professions, and death. She Came to Me triggered a similar flashback, and so did the walkaround relationship dynamics of Past Lives. I don't know if this is enough to constitute a genre resurgence, but I'm wondering if we should be on the lookout for Ed Burns and Mark Duplass sightings--just in case.
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then that picture is worth one admission to PICTURES OF GHOSTS for me.
Have you seen other films of his, Craig? As I wrote in the review, there’s so many references to his two Recife-set features that I wonder how the doc would play to folks new to his work.
I’ve only seen (and loved) BACURAU, but NEIGHBORING SOUNDS and AQUARIUS are both on Kanopy, so catching up with them won’t be a problem.
They’re both excellent, and I think worth seeing before the doc. It’ll enhance your appreciation for sure. (And make sure you watch them with good sound. He’s a genius with that.)
Roger that.