ATTENTION SO CAL XIXAXERS!!!! (or those who will be in the area next month):
Come to a screening of Autology, my experimental short showing at The Bungalow Club, Monday September 21st starting at 8:15 pm. My friend will also be showing his horror short, The Stray, beforehand.
Invite here:
http://www.zhibit.org/tom4ed/zoom/the-stray/the-stray-and-autology-at-the-bungalow-club
You don't have to RSVP to the name listed, just shoot me a PM if you are planning to attend.
Thanks and hope to see you there!
(https://xixax.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi116.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fo15%2FMac_Guffin%2FPostCard.jpg&hash=ac26a09ae0a392f069580e745f9952895d4e3905)
Bad ass. Wish I could attend but I don't live in the big city.
Wow, rad poster. Congrats Mac, this is awesome! Wish I could attend.
Will there be other screenings? Eventual web posting?...
Quote from: ©brad on August 20, 2009, 10:03:23 AMWill there be other screenings?
I certainly hope so. Right now going the festival route with it (Cannes being one). Crossing fingers it gets selected somewhere.
Quote from: ©brad on August 20, 2009, 10:03:23 AMEventual web posting?...
Kinda tricky that. Because of the nudity, and that my lead actress works with kids, trying not to display it where one of them might somehow stubble across it doing a Google search (hence her alternate name).
So I would rather mail a DVD to you or whoever here wants to see it.
ooh...i'd like to
Couple clips from the film (forgive the poor quality, please):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFQvPd0THYQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLCNMiyuHDc
That looks really interesting. Reminds me of the Cremaster movies, probably because of the music, but it also seems very much its own thing. I'd love to see the whole thing sometime. Thanks for sharing!
Quote from: matt35mm on September 01, 2009, 11:05:30 AM
That looks really interesting. Reminds me of the Cremaster movies, probably because of the music, but it also seems very much its own thing. I'd love to see the whole thing sometime. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching and the comment. If you're still caravaning by LA, I'll give you a copy when we meet.
Yes, we will do that.
I would love to see this, but alas, I am confined to Chicago.
How may I go about obtaining a DVD of this?
I would love to see this. Congrats on getting something done.
Holy shit. I'm not quite sure how to phrase this yet, so expect an edit to this in a little bit.
It was really beautiful, you definitely have an eye for detail. I need to rewatch this a couple more times to give a better, more accurate assessment. But thank you a lot for sharing this with me.
Wow! Man this was quite compelling. Very meditative and poetic, with some incredibly striking images. I definitely felt a Lynch vibe with a little Gus Vant Sant ala Elephant/Gerry mixed in. I loved the score, and kudos to your lead leading lady for a very brave and intriguing performance.
Congrats Mac! I can't wait to see your next piece.
Watch it ppl.
so the dvd arrived. neat package!
im with cbrad on this one, and to add something else I liked the editing too when depicting the routine and boredome of everyday life.
nice music too, even thought it would be some famous obscure piece but no, so congrats to the musician.
many many thanks mac for sending this and i look forward to see whatever you do next.
Thanks for the accolades, my friends.
Anyone else interested in viewing but doesn't want a DVD copy mailed to them, I now have it available online for download. PM me for the link.
First off, I would like to say Thank you, and sorry to Mac
Thanks, for taking the time and sending me your film. This 22 year old in southern Illinois greatly appreciates you taking the time to do so.
Sorry it's taken so long for me to give my input. That can mainly be blamed on the dislike/disinterest many share towards me, as well as busy college and work schedule. So Here goes something/nothing
This is definitely the type of film that warrants several viewings, and although I probably missed the intended message, the film definitely struck something inside me. So, in that regard, for this viewer, the cinema works.
Let me first approach, the lynch comments. I'm no film scholar, so i'm going to assume that the people who pegged you along side certain film makers have good reasoning to do so, and maybe they would care to elaborate.
For me, this is surreal, but not in the same way lynch is. I felt that Autology was much more organic, than a lynch film. Lynch likes to take you out of your comfort zone in a way that is unreal, or that you wouldn't expect. Mac's film resonates as reality the whole time, even during the more surreal points in the film. This wasn't an exercise in taking the audience to the unexpected. This film is meant to take the audience to a place EVERYONE should find themselves at certain points in their life. Lynch can be organic, don't get me wrong, that's where his appeal comes in, because he knows that he's going to totally fuck with us, and we as the audience know this too, so it becomes like space mountain. You know you're on a roller coaster, you just can't see an inch in any direction.
This film here is about how to question the basics, and the basis upon why we're so robotic-ally doing all the regular shit we've been born into, and are a part of whether we like it or not. It's easy to be apart/attached to things that the folks in the past have set up for us. So, it is in this regard that Autology is questioning the basic mode of human existence in the 21st century.
As the film opens, we go down, and we keep descending. Into quite a world. As Fernando put it, showing the mundane routine we go sometimes must go through, and showing it well. Very poetic
It's no coincidence that the "office life" of our main character is in black and white meanwhile the city and all its bright gigantic infrastructure towers on the outside. We see the herd of human existence that continues on a daily basis while we feel the singularity or the idea of solely being. The copy machine is a great play on the monotony of this carbon copy world our main character exists in.
This film is an exploration into the conscious, or even the sub conscience. Although this is the journey of a woman finding her voice, it it definitely relevant towards the species.
"We're one But, we're not the same" (yes, a U2 quote, sorry)
Our main character undergoes a cleansing, and this is where she begins to really wander. And let us not forget the brilliant quote "not all who wander are lost"
This accuarately describes the film. Life is about going where it looks like you don't belong, even though you as a human being are in your natural state. The way, you're born. Naked, vulnerable, one being.
I say 'don't belong,' because as a viewer it's unnatural. I don't know why I was raised in a society where something like a naked woman walking around a trashy desert is out of the ordinary, but it is. For some, who probably have a more open mind, this sequence may not seem like such a stretch, but for me it is almost like a juxtaposition, for lack of a better word.
To see this nude woman wondering around in the desolate land calling her business self in the black and white mundane world, is to see the mind and its vastness existing at the same time as your physical existence.
When she arrives in the desert the first time, the colors really gave me a feeling that 2001 gave me, after you slip into the monolith. Not sure how to elaborate on that, but i'm sure it had to do with the color.
Body and mind syncing up, for the copy machine to spit out "Who are you"
The score is absolutely dynamic, and so potent. The slow pacing of the score goes along the mysterious journey, no chords of revelation, just calm movement.
There is a bunch i haven't touched on. Maybe i'll add or subtract to this in the future.
i'm too hungry to continue.
THE POINT IS WATCH IT!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for that wonderful review, Neil. All of us involved enjoyed and appreciated your thoughts and kind words about the film. Yours, and everyone's accolades, have softened the blow of the stready stream of rejection notices we've been getting from film festivals.
Apologies to Mac for taking so long to review this. He was kind enough to send a DVD a couple months ago. I watched it once, enjoyed it, and didn't force myself to comment immediately, which more often than not means I don't. Dug it up again yesterday for a second view, here are some thoughts:
I was immediately taken by the juxtaposition of sound and images, and repetition therein. You ape your influences well without pointing directly to them. This much, you already know from the PMs. The green of the copier is most striking, I think, in contrast to the protagonist copying herself to enter this subworld to have this exigent conversation.
Who are you, where are you going, indeed. I think it does a disservice to any film of this nature to talk too much about it. After all, I'm sure you and Mel had your intentions of what the film means, but they end once you've released it for public consumption. This film is anyone's dream: doesn't quite make sense, but there's something to it. Without saying in the tagline that this woman is trying to find her voice, you've captured it nicely. As for the eggs -- the crate she finds had some writing on it, which I might have tried to avoid if at all possible -- this particular writing is artificial. In a film where there's so little said, details such as these stick out. Writing in dreams jars and never quite makes sense. I consider this a dream 'cause it's not our world. Kudos to your actress for being brave enough to bare her body. It of course was necessary to the way the thing developed, which makes it even more brave. The acting needed a little work though. Her intonations were a bit off, and I think by the time she got to throwing the eggs ___ (I don't know how to end that sentence, but maybe this 17+ minute film could be a couple minutes shorter), maybe because she "throws like a girl," there'd be some way to edit around that.
So: Woman in her 30s, alone, copying herself, and crushing eggs. That theme there doesn't have too much to do with the muteness she fields (typo) feels, so there's two threads here. The biological clock is ticking, and she desperately needs someone to talk to. There's absolutely NO ONE around in these shots that I can see, which is also a great credit to you in getting these shots. The more I think about it, the more I like it.
Who are you, where are you going, indeed. I am you, going where I came from. Answers that tell us nothing and everything. Duality of personality, trying to work something out in a different setting that you can't quite work out in waking life. So, my suggestion: the dialogue isn't necessary because of the stilted delivery. So, the challenge to you is to strip that dialogue. Having lines delivered on pieces of paper is a great idea. But what about the responses? Maybe show instead of tell. I think fleshing out that interaction might unlock something even more worthwhile.
Two questions: Why did you thank Jodorowsky (besides the obvious kindred spirit thing, my exposure to him is limited), and what's with the Cannnes 2010 logo on the DVD art? Congrats on getting it done. I always admire/am envious of anyone I "know" who's accomplished something like this.
Was just notified that Autology has been accepted to the New Hope Film Festival in PA. :multi:
Congratulations, Mac! That's awesome!
Heading to the New Hope Film Festival this weekend for the film's screening. Wish me luck.
Quote from: MacGuffin on June 24, 2010, 04:11:58 PM
Heading to the New Hope Film Festival this weekend for the film's screening. Wish me luck.
Best of luck man! The film is awesome, I'm sure you're in for another warm reception. Give us a full report afterwards!