Indie Roundup #4
Thought I would post another indie roundup seeing as I won't be reviewing any new films for a few days, here's 3 of my favourite indie/arthouse films that I think you should watch, along with a little summary and a trailer so you don't have to keep switching tabs. Thanks for reading!
Mary and Max
Some cynics might turn their nose up at an animation film, but really Mary and Max is much more than just an animated film. The film is an exercise in hilarious comedy, brilliant narrative and most importantly, real emotion. This isn't your typical Dreamworks churn out, Mary and Max is in my opinion a real instant classic. The film is made up of two characters, a young girl (Mary) who lives in Australia and a middle aged man (Max) who lives by himself in New York. Mary chooses Max to be her pen pal, and sends him a letter, the letters subsequently begin to be frequently exchanged back and forth between the two, and that's how the majority of the film plays out. It might sound like a drag, but its quite the opposite, the letters are narrated by each character and most of it is pure comedy gold, I can guarantee you'll be belly laughing in this one. Without spoiling anything, the end of the film is simply astonishing, and will genuinely move you in some way or another. The animation is stop-motion, my personal favourite animation style, and invokes nostalgic memories of both past classics like Wallace and Gromit, to more recent uses such as the astounding Anderson penned Fantastic Mr Fox. I highly recommend this film to anyone who wants to laugh, it may be an indie film but it is perfectly suited to a family viewing, as long as the kids are old enough to understand the deadpan humour which can border on adult. Overall a modern masterpiece in animation film making.
Dogtooth
Moving on from Mary and Max is a much more sinister film. Its a film which is shocking and controversial, but is also very important. Dogtooth is a Greek film, and made its first appearance at Cannes in 2009, where it went onto win the Prix Un Certain Regard award at the festival, since then it has become somewhat of a cult film among arthouse lovers, and its clear to see why. The narrative is simple, yet complex by its very nature: a family of a mother, father, brother and two sisters live in a house in the countryside, the house is surrounded by high walls so the girls cannot see out. The siblings have never left the house, nor are they ever allowed, not until their 'dog teeth' have fallen out. To teach them about the world outside, the parents play tapes for their children, which teach them words and the definitions for them, its clear from the opening sequence of the film however that nothing in this house bares any resemblance to the real world. For example, the girls are taught that a zombie is a small yellow flower, and that the word 'sea' is a chair. I won't spoil any more of the film for you, but this is only the tip of the iceberg of the strange things that take place during the course of the film. The film is absolutely beautifully shot, using a mix of handheld shaky camera styles mixed with hard, fixed shots and quick cuts. The performances are again astonishing, with the girls being relative newcomers to the film world, one scene in particular involving a strange dance is sure to become an iconic image among arthouse fans. The political messages in the film regarding our overprotective governments and the nanny state are plain to see, which makes reading the film much easier, yet on the other hand creates a strong sense of self awareness and post modernity seen in many other art house films, its a joy to watch. I recommend this film to anyone who wants to see a mystery unfold, and to see something that they wont have seen before, anyone who isn't fond of intense and violent scenes should avoid.
Like Crazy
This Sundance darling is far from perfect, but to contrast Dogtooth I thought I would include one of my guilty pleasures. Like Crazy is a realistic depiction of a long distance relationship, there's not much more to it than that. Its a film which does not bend to the conventions of romance films, but instead adopts a more typical indie style, albeit more engaging through the use of the films unscripted dialogue. The film isn't necessarily part of the Mumblecore movement, which is now peeking into the mainstream through the recent Lena Dunham TV show Girls, but is more of a mix of indie drama with elements taken from the mumblecore movement. The narrative revolves around a student from London who is studying in America and a joiner who lives there, they form a relationship and fall in love, but when Anna (Felicity Jones) goes home for the summer and tries to go back to see him, she is told she outstayed her visa, and is deported home. The film is shot in a typical Sundance indie style, and there are some beautiful locations which really make the film shine, on the other hand the film can border on schmaltzy, and while it is very realistic and doesn't follow the cliche, it is still cheesy. There are so many things to love about Like Crazy, the free form dialogue, the performances (particularly Felicity), the cinematography, the ending but equally there are some niggles. If you're looking for a love film that isn't like all the others you've watched over the past few years, I would definitely give this a shot, its down to earth, realistic and emotional towards the end.
Thats it for this weeks indie roundup, keep checking @Karlrichings and @Thatfilmfeeling on Twitter for updates to the blog!
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