The films so far

Commenting on what I have seen and felt during the viewing of the films in class is a real mixed bag and the negative certainly stand out more than all the positive. I am going to comment on a few that I feel touched on both sides of my feelings, the negative and the positive. The very first film that we saw was This is so, by Michael Snow and to put it bluntly, I feel that I was robbed of 20 minutes of my life...or however long it was...time comes to a standstill when you are reading a film word by word. I honestly am not sure what he was trying to accomplish with that piece. It seems as if it is half ways in between something, an interactive piece between maker and viewer, an association of words and thoughts, ramblings thats are meant to question. At the same time I don't believe that anything could be done to save this film in my mind. The addition of audio would only distract the viewer, pictures would make it loose some of its ill gotten charm, and anymore words would throw it into the realm of overkill. This doesn't mean that I only have bad thoughts regarding this film. I feel that the point of this film is regardless because ultimately what he has created in, my mind, is a truly unique experience. It may not rank high on my favorites list, but I will remember it long after I have forgotten so many others. In that light this film succeeds remarkably.

Two films that stand out in a more positive light are Munich-Berlin Walking and Market Street. Munich didn't strike me as anything interesting or engage me in anyway special, but the few images of the farmers and rural folk that appear in it did. It just seems haunting, nothing more and nothing less. These people ran into Oscar Fischinger 80 years ago and he filmed them, conversed with them, then left. Life went on. Fast forward 80 years and everyone of them is most likely dead, but (in a way) they are still alive and conversing with the viewers of his film. They unknowingly found immortality in a complete stranger with a camera. I am not sure if it brings out fears within me about death or the way life can seem to fly by or pause for an eternity all within the same moment, but those grainy smiling faces struck a dissonant chord in me. Market Street is...cool...thats it. It's nothing new that I haven't already seen. It will not stand out in my mind in 20 years. It probably won't influence any work that I do in my lifetime. But I have to praise if for its sheer grandeur. I couldn't imagine having to make that, frame by frame, lining up every single shot to fit a symmetrical field in my head and praying that it all fits in the end. Luckily In the end it works and is a great piece of eye candy.