Without
(Starring Joslyn Jensen, Ron Carrier)
Even with a brave central performance and some beautiful cinematography, Without is a difficult film to suggest to audiences. There might have been an interesting story here, but the lugubrious pacing and lack of actual plot severely bog down this art film.
Newcomer Jensen is a 19-year-old caretaker who has come to a very secluded island in Puget Sound to watch a catatonic old man (Carrier). Her past tragedies, struggles with her own burgeoning lesbianism and the isolation of the island start to get to the young woman. Her cell phone doesn't work, there is no Internet, and the old man just sits there. Her daily thrills are going to a local coffee shop and filming herself doing inappropriate things on the family's old computer.
Jensen is daring in her portrayal of a young woman drifting through grief and boredom into mental misbalance. There seems to be nothing she is too ashamed to do. In between the many static shots of her waking up, feeding the elder Carrier, exercising, and trying to get cell phone reception, the few other scenes are eerie and disturbing. But honestly, that doesn't make for much of a plot; there is no drive. Without is visually gorgeous. It's also so pretentious that if you're not an art house fan, you might find it boring, even soporific.
Minka; My Home in Japan
(Documentary short directed by Davina Pardo)
Despite the deep emotions of architect Yoshihiro Takishita, Minka seems shallow.
In the late 50s and early 60s, Takishita and his lover, Associated Press journalist John Roderick, moved a Japanese farmhouse, rebuilding it into their home 10 miles outside of Tokyo. It's a pretty and impressive house, the view is fantastic, and there is a strong sense that Takishita is emotionally attached to the home, the land, and to Roderick.
The filming is quiet and elegiac, using very little sound, borrowing old black-and-white photographs from Takishita to tell it's simple, short tale. The whole thing screams of restraint.
That, in essence, is the problem; it seems strange that in the 1960s, no one seems to have a problem with their gay relationship. Takisthita's family accepted Roderick without any known conflict. Roderick's job was not affected. The home seems to become a sanctuary, but we never get a sense of what it's an escape from.
GaySharkTank.com
(Short film starring Miss Coco Peru, Brian Huskey, David Burtka)
GaySharkTank.com is a gay knockoff of ChatRoulette.com. Both are fascinating and cruel websites where people log on and use their web cameras to either connect or reject each other. This comic short film captures that sort of lightning-fast, junior-high meanness.
Director Guy Shalem and writer Dennis Hensley do a brilliant job creating some small narratives and infusing all the slamming and insulting with some very funny moments. If you're not particularly web-savvy, the computer screen will throw you off. The editing will also take some time to get used to, but the fake advertisements around the action are a nice added joke.
What's unforgivable, though, is how this short film ends up serving as a real commercial for the website itself. If you buy a ticket, you'll be entertained, but you'll also be paying good money to be pitched to. This stuff belongs online, free, not in a film festival where we pay for entrance.
