Film Yap: IIFF - Small Town Murder Songs

Every once in awhile you get a title that completely works. “Small Town Murder Songs” perfectly tells you what the movie is about while showing its distinctive, cool style.

Peter Stormare (“Fargo”, “The Big Lebowski”) is a police officer of a small Canadian town. He’s trying to keep a low profile, ashamed of the things he’s done in his past. He does his job well and goes home to his supportive wife (Marth Plimpton). Too much attention is put on him when a young girl is murdered in his city and he feels it’s his responsibility to personally find the killer.

He moves awkwardly in every scene. He fidgets and doesn’t exactly know how to talk to people. Stormare plays him like he’s uncomfortable in his own skin. Small towns give the illusion that everything is at peace and orderly, but the best ones have their wrinkles. This character hints that anybody could have something twisted in their past, which opens doors for everyone else.

Writer/director Ed Gass-Donnelly throws in another great element by having the editing style punctuate something more. The song choices and their placement in the film are electrically jarring. Gass-Donnelly already had a ken eye with the look of the film, but this makes the film stand out to other stories of its kind.

The story is a bit familiar, but that’s because there are a billion stories like this in the genre. ”Small Town Murder Songs” is able to stand out by being a strong entry that doesn’t push the story past what it can offer. It’s a brisk 75 minutes, but that’s plenty of time to establish the cool feel of this world. One of the easiest films to recommend.

4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/07/12/small-town-murder-songs/

Film Yap: IIFF - Dog Sweat

Immediately Dog Sweat starts off on a likable note. A couple of Iranian guys are secretly drinking alcohol and arguing the colors of the Johnny Walker brands. The conversation naturally gets distracted and ill-informed. Yet it had a lot of realism and fun to it.

The film works best when it has people talking like this. The dialog is consistently good throughout, but it almost has too much plot to handle. There are several different young men and women who intersect as they struggle with life and love. Having the setting in Iran makes that simple premise incredibly fresh. It’s fascinating how they deal with older cultural philosophies and the strain that puts on them.

The women, in particular, are the most interesting part. They are mostly seen as responses to the men in the relationships, but that doesn’t mean they are two-dimensional. They are self-aware about the positions they are in and what they are truly able to do.

The whole movie is plotted like a soap opera, but this is better produced and acted. If they had established the characters a bit better at the beginning, it would be easier to follow them through their stories. Instead it is never as emotional as it could be.

Despite being set in Iran, it isn’t as political as it could be. The film is never preachy, but curious as it looks at certain situations. The curiosity is enough to always push the movie forward in a brisk fashion that shows people know what they are doing. Even though this one has its minor flaws, writer/director Hossein Keshavarz is a storyteller that I would be very curious to see his next film. Especially if he sticks with similar territory with another set of stories because there is no way Iran is as overdone as New York City. This is still a fresh take on a familiar genre.

4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/07/11/dog-sweat/

Film Yap: IIFF - Andante

Things I understood about the film “Andante”

--There is a world where there is one man left who dreams and he’s in a coma.

--There is a guy who edits dreams and there are screenings for them.

--I understood how characters felt about other characters. It was clear the editor had great affection for Sarah, distrust for others, etc.

--I understood themes it was going for concerning dreams and memory along with their impacts. I understand the parallels between dreams and filmmaking.

--I understood the director, Assaf Tager, is skilled in crafting a shot and establishing a tone. The set reminded me of “Metropolis” at times with its mechanical surroundings. He knew how to play with light and keep a strong, long shot.

--I understand the strengths of not having a movie that spoon-feeds the audience. Creating a confusing atmosphere can cause the viewers to concentrate more and then the results can be more rewarding and personal.

Things I didn’t understand about the film “Andante”

--The story

--What characters were trying to accomplish with the actions they were taking.

--Anything about the world. How it operated, why it is that way, what anything meant.

--The beginning

--The middle

--The end

--Why the dialog had to be so stilted

--What was going on in any given moment

--Why the movie worked so hard to isolate the audience so there is nothing to attach to despite the effort put in to form any sort of connection.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/07/12/andante/