Wholphin

Part loving art-doc recreation, part comedic musical, INTERKOSMOS may be the best communist propaganda since 1955, a genre that excelled in style and mathematic form. It revels in the Russian avant-garde cinematics that bled into its bombastic government documentaries. Once some human issues come up (birds and bees and astronauts), the film gets realistic and funny. Although you are never quite sure what filmmaker Jim Finn takes seriously, alternating between laughs and existentialist atmosphere, as if it was a predecessor to the new Daft Punk film Electronoma.

Following the space exploits of cosmonauts Seagull and Falcon, East Germans on their way to conquer moons of Jupiter and Saturn, INTERKOSMOS blends the deadpan but beautiful vibes of newreels, NASA static drone cameras – and actual musical sequences with a drill team – to a great new film that’s almost educational. The feature started out as a sequel to one of Finn’s short films about a gerbil, hoping to send the little guy in space. The film kept growing until humans in spacesuits and dance numbers were added. It would win art direction awards if film fests had them. The music is original but drawn from 70s German pop and real communist morale boosting riffs. There’s even exit music. The scenes and dialogue are also new but inspired by real training films.

While its perfect for film fest crowds and art fans who’s temple is the Museum of Jurassic Technology’s oil painting lounge dedicated to the Russian rocket dogs who did not return from space, Interkosmos could also play on PBS. And I seriously, seriously want it to play to Russian audiences over 50 – can anyone make this happen?

DVD available now from Facets Video, 24.95 capitalist-pig dollars.

At screenings, I sometimes mention our disastrous first attempt at making “The Crying Competition” film. We called it “The Crying Game” and you can see every painful moment of it now in the Wholphin screening room, with commentary by our insightful-if-emotionally-constipated participants. My favorite part is the surprise humiliating ending for all mankind compliments of Wholphin’s own Emily Doe.

Great lost films are not from 1919, but from the last 10 years.

If you hear about a great, unique independent film that premiered at Sundance, you assume it got to theaters, is out on DVD, is in the indie film world consciousness. Nope. There are hundreds of great films that premiere at the big fest that still disappear a year or two later. Theatrical and home video distribution is not guaranteed for anyone outside of celebrities it seems. Even films with style, distinctive settings and hot topic plots may not find a superhero to get them out to the public.

one of five posters made for the film

Around seven years ago, Shemie Reut was a cinematographer on music videos in New York when he decided he needed a break. Heading upstate, he ended up in a job as a camp counselor at Paradox Lake, specifically for autistic children. Blown away by the kids and environment, he wrote a script about a 20-something guy looking to get out of the city and taking the same job at the camp, and returned a year later to shoot it the film.

In the opening of the film, lead actor Matt Wolf encounters an autistic man on the subway that opens his eyes to that world.

The resulting film is PARADOX LAKE, a beautifully subtle drama, following Wolf as his life changes within the camp. Looking for a new world to escape to, he struggles with a tough counselor and tries to date another one, all while taking care of the autistic teens.

Some of the kids seem to have luck predicting events. This gets intense as Wolf befriends an autistic girl who is playing a hide-and-seek game of sorts. The new world Wolf is searching for finally shows up.

Reut does a wonderful job of mixing the narrative and the real world, balancing an interesting story with the deep, unique atmosphere of the camp. While the start of the film and overall plot is scripted, the film changed with the kids’ reactions and scenes and story elements were then improvised. Handheld cameras follow everyone, but the film is not messy. It actually flows quite smoothly in image and plot. Reut talks about how the style was affected by the situation.

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The camp kids knew a film was shooting, and their families gave permission, but it didn’t really change the kids’ daily routines. Reut knew this was better than bringing in all actors. Using the real camp environment and kids lends an undeniable authenticity to the film.

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The lead autistic girl who Wolf becomes intertwined with is a real camp kid, not an actor. After capturing some footage of her, Reut felt she could lend something special to the film and worked with her family on the scenes. This takes the film from a simple drama to a level of magical realism.

After a long editing process with all the raw footage, PARADOX LAKE premiered in competition at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and later won Best Film at the Los Angeles Film Festival. LAKE then enjoyed a long festival life around the world and played on the Sundance Channel. Unfortunately, no distributors took a chance on the small film with no stars, and still has not played the art house circuit or come out on DVD.

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Saw an amazing film in Perth last week made by a fascinating Aussie director, Kim Farrant. Besides being the daughter Primal Scream therapist and cellular consciousness pioneer Graham Farrant, Kim is a fellow cult enthusiast and has made an emotional, lovingly soul-impaling doc-o about, how can I say it, the various psycho-physio-sexual barriers that prevent people from accepting love. It’s called “Naked On The Inside” and at the Revelation Film Festival screening there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. It premiers August 7th on Showtime at 10pm ET. Seriously, this film will move you like a Reverend Al Green Sunday sermon.

Here’s the website: http://www.magicreal.com.au/nakedontheinside/

*Confused by the heading? A “doc-o” is what they call documentaries in Australia and I applaud them for the streamline innovation. A “Yobbo” is apparently the Australian version of a WWF Fan and I used it here only because I am a total Fezzik.**

**Fezzik is the rhyme-addicted giant in Princess Bride and you should be deeply ashamed of yourself if you didn’t know that.

In the beginning, branding was a substitute for human interaction: the containers had cartoon representations of the people who used to sell those items directly. That way, you wouldn’t feel as bad when you broke the heart of the real freaky green leaf-man who sold you vegetables at the farmer’s market.

Once that was a comfortable betrayal, brands became less attached to their actual product/producers. Increasing the ubiquity of your brand was the only way to run a business for most of the 80s and 90s. It’s often said that branding began to die at some point in the mid to late 90s, but watching advertising today, you’d never know it. Starburst, Skittles, Burger King, Pepsi, and more have given up not only on actually describing their product but also on making you associate their brand with positive feelings.

Where does this all lead? Well, I submit Meredith Scardino and Dave Hill’s Another Spec Ad as a damn good guess.