As film students, we were taught to detach ourselves from the typical everyday spectators who usually after watching something would simply comment, “I liked it”, or “I hated it”. Though, I do watch films analytically unlike a typical audience, I sometimes, cannot help but tocriticize the same way after viewing something. Being said that, after watching Scott Stark's films on December 9th at the first person cinema, I was torn. There were some pieces that I completely detested (Traces, Hotel Cartograph, To love or to die), and there are those that I was so gratefulto be blown away (Degree of limitation, Shape Shift, The Realist”).
“Traces” as he mentioned was shot in 2012 on 35mm film. This was a series of short 35mm films generated from digital still images, which are quite nice,but I could have enjoyed watching it very much if they weren't hidden under shifting shadows, and arranged in a kind of dizzying array of patterns and rhythm. The bright flashes of lights which were supposed to indicate that either the images are directing the way in which the sound is playing, or the sound directing the images made the film completely way too experimental and animation-like making it difficult to watch. In contemplation of the film, I thought of something watchable if not enjoyable or something that anyone could take interest to see. Perhaps my reason for not liking “Traces” is the fact that my notion is the same as everyone else who could hardly watch or enjoy it.
“Hotel Cartograh” on the other hand israther more tolerable to watch as he made shots it in a hotel’s casino using a16mm film in 1983. Stark explained that the technique employed was moving in and out of elevators through a 3 dimensional space. The filmmaker seemed to basically filmjust the casino’s floor carpet. My criticismof the film is that it was way too simple and lacks the complexity to the point that it looked like no there were no effort, or was not logically thought through by the filmmaker’s. When filming something in utmost simplicity, one needs a myriad of interesting camera movements, (it seemed as though the camera was just wondering around), smart cuts, and shot transitions. “Hotel Cartograh” in my opinion lacked these elements and for that reason that the film appears to seem like unedited. There was also an apparent lack ofuse of interesting sound and if there was, it could have help for the film to make a little difference. Based on Stark’s other works that I had the opportunity to watch that day including those I totally hated, his film was an insult to his skills because the film looked as if anyone without any technical filming knowledge could have filmed it with any equipment or any average video capturing device
“To love or to Die” was shot in 2003, and was considered as the first film in which musical scores were used. Stark wandered through a mall with two parallel cameras where he took shots of the shoppers: riding the escalator, peering into windows, and gliding past piles of shiny, seductive objects employing extreme slow motion and juxtaposing pictures of objects. What was confusing for me was the soundtrack choice in whicha haunting slow French Baroque composition was used, which translates to
Without you I can’t live
Please, don’t go
Jesus my child
Jesus the innocent
I am not aware how the juxtaposition of this song about love and death with images of shoppers in a mall and similar objects in the mall relates to each other. PerhapsStark was trying to conveya message that when people go shopping, they are in search of the same thing that we are all yearning for such as love, redemption, transcendence, and wholeness, but there were no indication of emotion on these people's faces, and they weren’t even in contact with the objects in the mall. Strange faces and movement that constitutesthe imagery seemed like a joke that some of the viewer’s sees these images as a subject of laughing stock. In my opinion, the music scores and the sound track are the only elements that convey the context of the film. Therefore, the imagery of choice could have been better and worked on improve the overall aspect of the film. Soundtrack encompasses the emotional and psychological aspects of the film, indicating what the characters feel. However, there was no harmony that encompasses the same meaning particularly in the combination of the soundtrack and the imagery, it can only be assumed that the soundtrack's pattern and the images were in not made in perfect harmony. If there was a first-hand understanding of the French language, then maybe not knowing what the song was saying could have made me think about it differently.
Like a typicalaudience, a clear and most apparent predicament about "Degree of Limitation" is that the movie was likable because it is one of those videos that encompasses simplicity andprofound level of sophistication leavingthe viewers with nothing more than to say but "I liked it" or "that was great. Scott Stark's "The Realist" was one of my favorites and among the best films made by an independent filmmaker I have ever seen,encompassing a sublime and breathtaking visual. "The Realist" on the other hand is composed of flickering still photographs with people in the department store and mannequins located in the clothing display, fashion and storefront windows. The mannerin which these mannequins were placed in the frame and the way they were shaking insinuates an ideaofdirecting the viewer's attention to the picture making it almost impossible for one to look away. They appear to be seductive, and so were the luxurious things around them. What’s more astonishing is the fact given the manipulation techniques, he managed bring the film into cinematic proportion. One can get a sense of the story as the scenes progresses. I think he's editing was amazing and smart. For example; he used a lot of cross fading, which aided the continuity of scenes and made it seem as though there weren't many cuts. Unlike "To love or to Die," the musical selection for this piece aided a lot. The film might have constituted several meanings, but in my opinion, this film is a representation of our fantasies, and desires for luxury in life.
"Shape Shift" is another video I would watch hundred times, and still afford to be amazed. As Starkhave mentioned, the use of simple techniques with two cameras set up facing each other, the result revealed a body transpose upon itself. It was really impressive in the sense that its metamorphosis made with a simple combination of genial shots.
Even though I hated some of Scott's first three films, the last three won me over, and I have great respect for this filmmaker.
