Monday, May 19, 2008

Eating Chocolate Cake in a Bag

I have been becoming more and more interested in the mumblecore or bedhead cinema movement springing up from SXSW and other festivals, largely because I see a lot of connections to microcinema, though it is not explicitly being called that. Here a bunch of twentysomethings tell personal stories digitally with a lot of improv and handheld camera and poorly-captured audio. I genuinely don't know if this is done from budgetary constraints (like a lot of my Microcinema Fest brethren) or from general insouciance.

Last night I checked out HANNAH TAKES THE STAIRS and although I found it more interesting than maddening I learned one important thing: that I am probably too old for mumblecore.

I have to give them credit for sticking to that old microcinema standby of finding a cute girl willing to make out with several nerd filmmakers who normally would never even be able to talk to the aforementioned party.

All that being said I think I will Netflix up THE PUFFY CHAIR.

4 comments:

Christopher Sharpe said...

I think, out of the whole mumblecore movement, THE PUFFY CHAIR is the one to watch.

Pete Bauer said...

I've seen some of these films and, I guess I'm too old for them as well. They often have a sweet sort of charm about them, but their "new" self evaluation of life as a 20-something offers very little insight. I mean, human nature hasn't really changed in thousands of years. So, I look at them and go, yeah, okay. But, in the end I feel like, so what? Some even come off overly self-important, as if their "insight" is somehow revolutionary when it's all just 20-something self-induced "drama."

Get a job, be responsible, get over yourself, grow up and join the rest of the world.

Pete Bauer said...

The Puffy Chair trailer looks interesting. I've put it to the top of my Netflix queue.

Pete Bauer said...

I watched Puffy Chair online via Netflix... I revert to my original statement...

"it's all just 20-something self-induced "drama."

Get a job, be responsible, get over yourself, grow up and join the rest of the world."