Stereo (1969).

Review #1239: Stereo.

Cast: 
Ronald Mlodzik, Jack Messinger, Paul Mulholland, Iain Ewing, Arlene Mlodzik, Clara Mayer, and Glenn McCauley. Written and Directed by David Cronenberg (#816 - Crimes of the Future, #1127 - eXistenZ, and #1220 - A History of Violence)

Review: 
One would wonder what would make a film like this, also known as Stereo (Tile 3B of a CAEE Educational Mosaic), stick out from the usual fare of entertainment. This ultimately proves to be a film that seems more ripe for dissection than a complete watch for entertainment's sake, complete with voice over (owing in part due to noise that Cronenberg's camera made during filming) and a few sound effects. If you are into movies of the experimental / art house genre that try to be something really different with a bunch of educational terms (and a few moments of silly jargon) that talk about telepaths, weird personal exploration, personality splits, and other various events. I can't really say that this was something I found to be worth endorsing, since it meanders and lingers a bit too long with itself, making for a weird 65 minute experience - the best thing that stands out really is when there is a voice over, only if because having no sound (or music) and watching things occur is a pretty strange experience. The actors seem to be having a fine time, walking around Scarborough College (University of Toronto, for which Cronenberg is a graduate of) and making a few faces.

At least I can give credit to Cronenberg, who was just 26 when this film came out, having served as director, writer, producer, editor and cinematographer, which he repeated for his next feature (which retained some of the cast from this one, notably in Mlodzik). It isn't so much a boring time as it is just one of those experiences that you'll feel a bit curious about what you saw more than finding it as just a waste. Giving it a bit of thought to what goes on may or may not help with said assessment. Watching either of his two experimental films (or even his short films with Transfer (1966) and From the Drain (1967)) might make for an odd night in terms of looking at quirky material through the eyes of someone developing their directorial senses with relish - they may not prove to be great, but at least it will play well with the crowd it wants to sit with. At least you won't have one of those little voices that will cry out and say "you just don't get it" when you finish assessing what you saw, at least. Take it for what it is worth.

Happy Canada Day folks. It is good to have done a Canada Day Feature after having done it for five previous years from 2013 to 2017. It happened that this is also the 50th anniversary of the directorial debut of noted Canadian director David Cronenberg, so this made perfect sense for today, since the first film I covered of him was the next film that he did after this one.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Crimes of the Future.

Review #816: Crimes of the Future.

Cast
Ronald Mlodzik (Adrian Tripod), with Jon Lidolt, Tania Zolty, Jack Messinger, Paul Mulholland, William Haslam, and William Poolman. Directed by David Cronenberg.

Review
The 2nd part of this celebration on Canada Day ends with Crimes of the Future, the first time a David Cronenberg film has been featured on Movie Night. The movie was directed, written, produced, edited and shot by Cronenberg, born in Toronto. I can't say I remember the last time I watched an experimental film, complete with a bunch of unknown actors and Mlodzik as our narrator in a movie that certainly relies on imagery more than anything. But the main question is if the movie is any good? I suppose it all comes down to what you feel about watching something a bit different than the usual sci-fi fare. It lasts just barely over an hour, but to some it may feel much longer, depending on the amount of patience one has for something that is strange in its own right.

I'm not in the camp of going for movies just because they aren't in the mainstream, but I'm also not in the camp of outright rejecting something that doesn't appeal to everyone. I try to go into all the movies I see with at least some sort of open mind, and though I do admittedly differentiate in reviews of certain movies from time to time, there is an attempt to try and understand the effort taken in movies, even ones like this. The cinematography (also by Cronenberg) is decent, sometimes showing the strangeness of a world that may already be doomed. It's a twisted movie, with a mindset that does not skew towards what it wants to be, as strange and sad as it may be. If you are into movies of the experimental / art house genre that try to be something really different, you might be for it. I can't make myself give this a positive review, but it is at least a movie with effort. 

 Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

And with this ends another Movie Night on Canada Day. It is not my native country, but I felt that since it was close to my nation's Independence Day, it only made sense to try and include some Canadian films into the mix of the American celebration three days later. I hope you enjoyed the reviews.

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