One Word Movie

Silent Light

Although this film is about 2 and a quarter hours long, it's so minimalist that there's only about 150 cuts in it, and I reckon all the dialogue would fit onto a couple of sides of A4. Even in Big Font. It's about a man in a Mennonite community in Mexico who's bowling in the next lane over, if you know what I mean and I think you do. I'd just done the last of my Christmas shopping and was feeling pretty tired, so I had a bit of a sleep - and when I woke up it was still the same shot.

I was thinking of getting up and leaving because it was quite boring but what kept me in the cinema was the old couple directly behind me. Her mouth was wired directly to her brain, while he grunted like a caveman in a Raquel Welsh movie. They'd started during the adverts.

"That's a clever ad" she said after the grim one where Ken promises to break your legs if you go to work on your motorbike.

"MMmm yes"

Then the trailer for The Diving Bell and the Butterfly came on.

"I'd like to see that film"

"Mmm yes"

The trailer for 4 weeks, 3 hours & 2 hours came on:

"Is that film in French?"

After I had my doze they were whispering away like dried leaves in a paper bag. Then two of the characters started having sex. It wasn't meat platter sex or anything, but it was definitely unsuitable for a 12A certification. Plus the characters weren't exactly buff - looking at their bodies reminded me of those sad wrinkly balloons you find in a cranny two weeks after a party. Anyway, that was waaaay too much for the whisperers, they got up and left. Presumably when they have sex they do it with the lights off, in two adjacent rooms.

In any case, I am not sure if it is a causal relation or anything, but after they left the film suddenly started being brilliant. It had that intensity that alters the way you look at things after leaving the cinema. So it definitely gets the good rating.

Happy Christmas to anyone who is still reading.

posted by Chairman Peyote @ 2:19 AM