Despite this selection process, however, the quality of the Oz Shorts can still sometimes leave a little to be desired. But enough preamble - on with the show!
LOOK SHARP (Dir: Amy Gebhardt, Australia, 2006, 35mm, 9min)
This tautly made, simple film is shot in a single room and features three actors. They play an older female photographer, and two of her young male students (ostensibly sharpies, although their haircuts are wrong) with whom she is sleeping. The queer focus of the film is the sexual rivalry/tension between the two young men.While crisply lensed, the film is let down by unconvincing acting from the guys; and more critically, by its over-reliance on the story of Australian photographer Carol Jerrems, as told in the documentary Girl in the Mirror. Essentially this is a fictionalised account of Jerrems' life, and consequently looses points from me for failing to acknowledge that fact.
FILLED WITH WATER (Dir: Elka Kerkhofs, Australia, 2006, video, 5min)
An animation about a woman whose life is transformed by a kiss. The story was slight, but the animation technique and aesthetic was intriguing, and the soundtrack strong.
THE MANUAL (Dir: Sarah Spillane, Australia, 2006, video, 15min)
A young man is sent away for therapy when it's discovered he is queer. Upon his return home 20 years later, he discovers little has changed. A confused attack on psychiatry and the use of aversion therapy to 'cure' homosexuality; well shot, impressively cast and well intentioned, but visually cliched.
SNAP (Dir: Georgia Versluys, Australia, 2007, 16mm, 11min)
Petra’s life is turned upside down when a chance meeting leads her to consider denying her true feelings. Reliance on visual narrative is only good when it avoids cliche. The plot of this film felt contrived and strained. A short about imagination and passion which shows little of either.
LOVE BITE (Dir: Craig Boreham, Australia, 2008, video, 3min)
This tangential play on the coming out story sees Noah confessing that he wants to be more than just friends with Gus. The two boys are sharing after-school cones when the munchies kick in. The results are... bloody surprising... at least they should be. Nice concept but under performed in the acting stakes. Editing and cinematography also leave a little to be desired.
EVERY OTHER WEEKEND (Dir: Tim Slade, Australia, 2007, video, 16min)
In which a hand on the back says all about love and the pain of seperation that needs to be said. While bordering on melodramatic, strong performances and deft direction ensure that this short, emotive feature about two seperated gay dads and their attempts to vye for their daughter's affection and maintain some semblance of a relationship is rich, rewarding and moving. The only Oz Short I had an emotional response to - I was wiping away tears by its end...MY LAST TEN HOURS WITH YOU (Dir: Sophie Hyde, Australia, 2007, video, 15min)
Jeremy is leaving; heqading overseas. Mark is staying. Over ten hours on a hot summer night, the fears and frustrations of their relationship is played out. But really, who cares? Beautiful production values but a dull, dry and tedious film that left me utterly unmoved. Oddly enough it won the City of Melbourne Emerging Film Makers Award for best Oz Short, so what would I know?
MIRROR, MIRROR (Dir: John Winter, Australia, 2007, video, 11min)
An aging man bids farewell to his drag identity as he sits at the mirror and throws her makeup and paste jewels away. This could have been superb: an exploration of identity, aging, personal expectations of what it means to be beautiful versus society's views. It wasn't. It felt like the film-maker took the easy way out, going for cheap laughs instead of something more meaningful and memorable. Next, please.
ROPE BURN (Dir: Melvin Montalbin, Australia, 2008, video, 8min)
A love triangle plays out between two women aerialists and their anchor-woman. If you want sexy, smouldering, erotic circus acts with a lesbian twist, skip this earnest film and watch When Night Is Falling, instead.
2 comments:
Oh Richard,
I'm glad I saw these before reading your reviews, as they would have put me off.
Whilst they were a mixed bag, there weren't any total duds as is often the case in shorts.
I liked My Last Ten Hours with You. I thought it was a good portrayal of a couple who find it hard to express themselves verbally. I found it a different portrayal of a gay relationship.
I also liked The Manual. I saw it as being about seeing difference in the medical model as much as anything else. Did you realise that he hadn't returned physically, that it was his funeral they were going to?
Hope work has become less busy to allow more of a balance in life.
I confess to being a bit snarky when I wrote these reviews, but I stand by my comments for most of them - with the possible exception of 'My Last Ten Hours with You'. I want to revisit it to see what all the fuss was about. Possibly there's something in it I missed the first time?
Post a Comment