Amanda Lomonaco

Short Film Movie Review: REINVENTING THE REEL

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REINVENTING THE REEL
by Amanda Lomonaco

Review of the short film
Played at the September 2015 WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival.
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/september_2015_film_festival.html

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Reinventing the Reel covers some very interesting and topical subject matter, relating to the portrayal of homosexuality in film and television. With so many global progressive moves towards the legalization of gay marriage, and global acceptance of homosexuality, it’s easy to see the importance of this film in today’s world. You would think that with such an interesting and important subject matter the filmmaker would be able to do so much more with it, but I found this film fell short in a few different ways.

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While Reinventing the Reel goes a long way towards describing all the different ways in which homosexuality is wrongly portrayed in film, it fails to provide a solution to how it could be better portrayed. For the most part the film seems to simply support the idea of more homosexual main characters, and more homosexual filmmakers in general. While there is nothing wrong with this concept, it’s a little incomplete as a solution, because it doesn’t analyze the numerous positive and normative ways that homosexuals could be portrayed in film.

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Moreover, although this film is largely about the film industry, the filmmaker limits his audience by focusing too much on film industry creators. It gives a brief statistical analysis of the popularity of some kickstarter campaigns that focused on the transgendered, and homosexual community, but there is little communication with the every day spectator. As important as it is for Hollywood and bigger commercial studios to make more homonormative films, it’s equally as important for audience members to accept this emergence.

The documentary genre is always a difficult one to tackle, and there is always a lot more that could be done and said to raise awareness to different issues. Reinventing the Reel manages to provide high quality intrviews, with very prominent and important industry members to convey an important message. I may have focused a little harshly on the flaws of the film, but I still believe it’s an important one to watch. For many of us, the media is our window into different cultures, worlds, and ways of thinking, and if we never allow the “different” to actually appear in that window, we’re just lying to ourselves about what “normal” really is.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of REINVENTING THE REEL:

Deadline TODAY to Submit your Short Film, Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

Watch recent Writing Festival Videos. At least 15 winning videos a month: http://www.wildsoundfestival.com

Short Film Movie Review: A SIGN

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A SIGN
by Amanda Lomonaco

Review of the short film.
Played at the September 2015 WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival.
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/september_2015_film_festival.html

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This one left me intrigued, and a little confused, but I couldn’t help but love it. It follows a mature Belgian prostitute who has lost her faith in God, and tries to find a greater meaning in life. The symbolism in the film is enormous, of course the title itself leaves you constantly searching for “signs”, symbolism, and messages that could hint at the final conclusion.

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If nothing else touches you about this film, the cinematography ia absolutely brilliant. I felt like I could have watched this film on mute, and I still would have thoroughly enjoyed the beauty of the images parading across the screen. The contrast in colours, the lighting, the set dressing, it all helps convey the main character’s state of mind, and the “signs” that constantly surround her, silently trying to reach her.

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One of my favourite things about short films, is when they make you think you could watch them a dozen times and come up with a different interpretation every time. A Sign certainly achieves this purpose. The film tells you just enough to allow you to understand the plot, without explaining every aspect that goes on. It leaves you to wonder, and to guess what made the main character so joyful in what should have been such a miserable moment. It leaves you to piece together all the different moments in the film, and break them into their individual “signs” to build the puzzle of its full meaning.

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It’s often quite easy for experimental, poetic, and artistic films to leave with a sense of question. To open up a realm for numerous interpretation, and emotional response. It’s quite rare, however, for a film that follows a traditional storyline structure to achieve the same feat. There is very little that is abstract about A Sign, and yet so much of it is left to personal interpretation.

As I said, I would easily watch this film on mute, if nothing else to just enjoy the beauty of it. I would even watch it several times over, just to see how much of it I could piece together. I’m still not quite sure if there was a moral to this film, or quite what the ending was intending to achieve, and still I can’t wait to get a chance to see it again.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of A SIGN:

Deadline TODAY to Submit your Short Film, Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

Watch recent Writing Festival Videos. At least 15 winning videos a month: http://www.wildsoundfestival.com

Short Film Movie Review: TURKEY

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TURKEY
by Amanda Lomonaco

Review of the short film.
Played at the September 2015 WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival.
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/september_2015_film_festival.html

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Turkey is set in a credibly typical and familiar scenario to many North American families; the yearly drama that surrounds Thanksgiving. Of course, those same tragedies are always much funnier when they’re happening to someone else, a fact that Turkey takes plenty of advantage of. Moreover, by centering the film around Thanksgiving, and in particular around the world “turkey”, the film is provides even more comedic relief by suing different definitions of the word as “introductions” to certain scenes.

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You know the scriptwriters have done something right when you continue to cheer for a main character even after they’ve done something terrible. Some of the reason for this might be the fact that the horrible act in question is kept hidden for most of the film. Maybe we can’t help but feel bad for the woman who is trying to juggle cooking Thanksgiving dinner, & forcing her family to get along, while trying to stay positive and pretend like nothing’s wrong. Perhaps some people might not feel bad for her at all,but the brilliant acting and dialogue certainly go a long way in keeping this story humorous and heartwarming throughout.

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For a film that does so well to keep the audience laughing, it seems to lose some of its steam towards the end. Although it’s not entirely predictable, everything seems to wrap itself up nicely in a neat and tidy little bow, which may be somewhat of a let down to some audiences. Then again, neatly wrapped up endings are a plague of the comedy genre. Despite this, somehow, the film still manages to make 17 minutes of your time seem like 5, and you’re left wishing you had seen more of that family’s story; whether in future or in the past tense.

Turkey certainly follows a more traditional narrative; a family gathering for a special occasion, mistakes & arguments popping up left and right, and a somewhat quirky but sweet conclusion. When described like this it’s easy to perceive the film as boring, but the overall experience of this short can’t help but leave a smile on your face

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of TURKEY:

Deadline TODAY to Submit your Short Film, Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

Watch recent Writing Festival Videos. At least 15 winning videos a month: http://www.wildsoundfestival.com

Short Film Movie Review: ROBBIE THE RABBIT

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Review of the short film ROBBIE THE RABBIT.
by Amanda Lomonaco

Played at the September 2015 WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival.
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/september_2015_film_festival.html

So this one was… particularly unique. The child actors were amazing and the story itself, though rather dark, maintained a certain level of innocence and comedy throughout. The end, however, could be described as somewhat off-putting.

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Most classical stories tend to at least attempt some form of morally acceptable conclusion, and something about a story involving children seems to cry out for a “moral of the story”. Robbie the Rabbit, on the other hand, seems to have selected the unexpected as its ideal conclusion. Although the finale is alluded to throughout the film, some part of you can’t help but resist the idea that such an ending is even possible. Perhaps it was that very resistance that the filmmakers were attempting to invoke, forcing the question of why we are so unwilling to accept that anyone would choose to undergo such a procedure.

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Despite its disturbing ending, you can’t help but appreciate the cleverness of this short in all its detail. The production itself is of an impressive quality, and the quaintness of the characters hooks you from the start. The character of the sarcastic teacher, making cynical remarks to a group of kindergartners, disrupts the reality of the rest of the story, and is the first indication that something about this is a little odd. In fact the character of the teacher himself somewhat removes this film from the realm of traditional reality, if nothing else simply by the self-reflexivity of his comments. Or perhaps it is his very cynicism that traumatizes Robbie into the adult state we find him in.

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I feel like this could be a bit of a divisive movie; one of those “love it or hate it” situations. Granted that’s always likely to happen with oddball films like this one. Steer clear if you’re really squeamish, but otherwise give it a try; you might learn something new about yourself.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of ROBBIE THE RABBIT:

Deadline TODAY to Submit your Short Film, Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

Watch recent Writing Festival Videos. At least 15 winning videos a month: http://www.wildsoundfestival.com

Short Film Movie Review: MOVING LONDON

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KEEPING LONDON MOVING
by Amanda Lomonaco

Review of the short film MOVING LONDON.
Played at the September 2015 WILDsound FEEDBACK Film Festival.
http://www.wildsoundfestival.com/september_2015_film_festival.html

As part of the “Moving Cities” series of short films, WILDSound Feedback Film Festival last month showed the film that started it all; Moving London. This series incorporates such an amazing number of things, I often have trouble understanding all the different things it makes me feel. This film series is a celebration urban spaces, public life, dance, motion, & freedom, among so many other things. It demonstrates how the movement of our everyday lives somehow simultaneously clashes & fuses with the mechanics of the metropolis, while also illustrating how well dance mimics the pattern of our daily lives.

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For those who need traditional plot lines and story-telling techniques the “Moving Cities” can be a bit tough to swallow. However, even at the most superficial level it’s impossible to not appreciate the graceful movements of the dancers or even the music itself. It’s not hard to find the connection, or perhaps even the contrast, between the dancers and ourselves, in how we each move through urban space. Just like our own individual lives and personality, each of the dancers moves through their own space differently. The dancers that are grouped together or paired seem to simulate the repetitiveness of our daily actions, both on a daily routine basis, and in how large groups of people in a city will follow the same patterns without even realizing.

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The freedom, or even the indifference, with which the dancers perform in these urban spaces while life moves on around them, not only generates a beautiful and impactful image, it emphasizes our indifference towards each other as individuals in a society in urban centres. As an entire film series it’s interesting to see how the cultural, and architectural elements of each of the different cities impacts the dancers’ movements. The contrasts between these movements within the same kind of film structure emphasizes the concept of “similar differences” between every culture in major urban centres; emphasizing the humanity of all different cultures, regardless of their cultural differences. Moreover the fluid, flexible motions of the dancers also contrast with the rigid, mechanical movements of the cars, trains, bicycles, and other modes of transport that surround them. Rather than override each other, however, the film illustrates how well these elements coexist by juxtaposing them in beautifully composed moving images.

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As you can tell a lot can be said about the “Moving Cities” series as a whole, and there’s plenty to be interpreted and extracted from each of the films. Even if artistic, or dance films aren’t quite your thing, the series is definitely worth a watch, if nothing else for a small burst of inspiration or distraction. Much like all the different art forms that come together to compose these films, I’m quite sure each individual who watches these films will extract something very unique out of it; regardless of whether of not you’re able to put it into words.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of MOVING LONDON:

Deadline TODAY to Submit your Short Film, Screenplay, Novel, Story, or Poem to the festival: http://www.wildsound.ca

Watch recent Writing Festival Videos. At least 15 winning videos a month: http://www.wildsoundfestival.com