The first thought upon sitting down for “Computer Chess” might be one of snobby resistance. Director Andrew Bujalski has been credited as the godfather of mumblecore, a movement that has produced a number of interesting pictures but one that still invites scorn for supposedly lowering the discourse of independent filmmaking. As usual, here he’s working with a collection of non-actors, though they may be the least photogenic bunch he’s ever shot: there’s certainly no one as bewitching as “Funny Ha Ha” star Kate Dollenmayer, or even as intriguingly polysexual as Alex Karpovsky in “Beeswax.” It’s a period picture taking place in 1980 and the film is shot on video using the technology of that era, giving the picture a fuzzy cable access look. Movie tickets cost a lot of money so when you see a visual like that, there’s a tendency to blanch, but what does...
- 7/19/2013
- by Gabe Toro
- The Playlist
The Ann Arbor Film Festival, having survived their half-a-century blowout in 2012, is back with another rip-roarin’ 51st edition in 2013, which will run from March 19-24, screening a mind-boggling amount of experimental short films and a few features.
Highlights of the fest include:
Special presentations by this year’s jurors, including Marcin Gizycki round-up of Polish animation from the 1950s to the present; Laida Lertxundi’s selection of some of her films as well as her biggest influences; and Kevin Jerome Everson’s mini-retrospective of his own films.
There’s also special tributes to Pat O’Neill, including a retrospective of his short films from the ’70s to the present as well as a screening of his 1989 35mm experimental epic Water and Power; Suzan Pitt, with selections of short films from her career; and a screening of Ken Burns’ latest doc The Central Park Five, co-directed with his daughter Sarah Burns and son-in-law David McMahon,...
Highlights of the fest include:
Special presentations by this year’s jurors, including Marcin Gizycki round-up of Polish animation from the 1950s to the present; Laida Lertxundi’s selection of some of her films as well as her biggest influences; and Kevin Jerome Everson’s mini-retrospective of his own films.
There’s also special tributes to Pat O’Neill, including a retrospective of his short films from the ’70s to the present as well as a screening of his 1989 35mm experimental epic Water and Power; Suzan Pitt, with selections of short films from her career; and a screening of Ken Burns’ latest doc The Central Park Five, co-directed with his daughter Sarah Burns and son-in-law David McMahon,...
- 3/19/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Robert here, back with more of my series on great contemporary directors. This week we're going to call it the "hear me out" edition or the "please don't shun me" edition. Bringing up this director doesn't usually yield very positive results. However I will note that I'll only be discussing Bujalski here and not any supposed "movement" that he is a part of (as I've not seen any other films from that "movement"). And I hope you'll give the man and his work some consideration. Next week we will return to the realm of the almost universally beloved.
Maestro: Andrew Bujalski
Known For: Super-independent movies about aimless ordinary people.
Influences: Cassavetes is a big one. Jarmusch and Linklater too.
Masterpieces: I'm not dumb enough to suggest that Bujalski's had a masterpiece when a while back I declared that Christopher Nolan didn't.
Disasters: None
Better than you remember: Probably all of them if,...
Maestro: Andrew Bujalski
Known For: Super-independent movies about aimless ordinary people.
Influences: Cassavetes is a big one. Jarmusch and Linklater too.
Masterpieces: I'm not dumb enough to suggest that Bujalski's had a masterpiece when a while back I declared that Christopher Nolan didn't.
Disasters: None
Better than you remember: Probably all of them if,...
- 6/17/2010
- by Robert
- FilmExperience
Andrew Bujalski's one of the most distinctive directors of drama to emerge in the last decade. The elements that define his work are instantly recognizable: the abrupt starts and stops (those words seem more appropriate in regard to his movies than "beginnings" and "endings") and his instistence on not offering resolutions at the end of his films; the careful interplay of details that mark both his characterization and his framing; and the nuanced, often beautiful images he creates with his regular cinematographer, Matthias Grunsky. Frankly, he's got more in common with Mike Leigh and recent Patrice Chereau than with his friend Joe Swanberg.
Bujalski's first two features were the naturalistic miniature Funny Ha Ha and the bleak, ambiguous Mutual Appreciation. His newest film, Beeswax, can be seen as an application of the lessons of those first two films: after Mutual Appreciation's urban sprawl, he's focused again on a...
Bujalski's first two features were the naturalistic miniature Funny Ha Ha and the bleak, ambiguous Mutual Appreciation. His newest film, Beeswax, can be seen as an application of the lessons of those first two films: after Mutual Appreciation's urban sprawl, he's focused again on a...
- 2/8/2010
- MUBI
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