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viciouscargo
Reviews
Frontier (2001)
Wonderful, experimental and Wiley Wiggins!
I think it's a requirement to watch any Zellner Brothers film with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek. If you want belly laughs or deep meaning, you'll find neither- instead you have the subtle humor that mixes melancholy with the absurd, resulting in a sublime and subtle experience that stays with you (and, the animated extras of the films are not to be missed!). The Zellners' films aren't appreciated by all, but are well worth watching. They don't rely on obvious humor or accessible drama, but serve up humor and dramatic tension in spades. I loved seeing Wiley Wiggins again, and am ready to see another feature from this truly unique team.
It Is Fine! Everything Is Fine. (2007)
Incredible, unique and not easy to watch
Just saw this at Sundance with Glover giving Q&A. Not many people will say this, but I think this is a really beautiful and touching film. The screenplay was written by Steven C. Stewart, a man with cerebral palsy (who played himself in the film), depicting his fantasy life. In the fantasy he still is disabled, but his incomprehensible speech is readily understood by others, he is appreciated for his charm, tenderly seduces many women and violently overpowers them. An amazing film that might easily be dismissed as exploitative or misogynistic. To call it either is to misunderstand the directors' intention and to judge the writer. I really enjoyed performances by Glover's father, Margit Carstensen, and the musical selection is particularly moving. (CG, I asked at the Q&A what piece was playing leading up to and at the moment Julie is stretching out on the white rug, when we see the split set of the two apartments. It's not Vienna Blood and I'm dying to know. Khachaturian? Please help so I can stop humming it to friends: viciouscargo(at)yahoo.com) Glover's film is not easy or comfortable to watch, but I encourage people to make the effort to see this film. Glover said he does not plan to release the trilogy on DVD so get out and see this one. I dare you.
Pretty Things (2005)
What a WASTE
Ditto on previous comments. The first time I've actually been angered by the filmmakers ignorance, ineptitude and insistence in hogging the camera. She simply doesn't get it, -the subject matter, or how to make a film- and the result is a deeply disappointing non-documentary on what is a rich and wonderful subject matter. So much time is wasted on Liz Goldwyn practicing (bizarrely) en pointe, being fitted for a non-burlesque costume, singing in a studio (lingering, pointless closeup of her 20k Cartier bracelet) and thinly veiling her interest in the aged dancers giving her their costumes ('OOOH! I'd love to wear that OUT' to which Sherry Briton explains she 'can't have it'). It's embarrassing to watch.
She's an inarticulate interviewer, misses the points being made to her and complains endlessly that she doesn't want to get naked or let anyone see anything while she awkwardly paws their dresses and tries them on. It's maddening. I have to wonder if the editors and people who worked alongside her weren't sending her up a bit by including the revealing material.
The second insult is the fact that none of today's women who have been reviving the art form with well-known and widely traveled burlesque shows aren't even discussed.
HBO should pull this, salvage the footage of many of the now deceased performers, remove all footage and comments by Goldwyn and hand the project over to an able filmmaker. The queens of Burlesque deserve much better.