It may be unfair to describe 1996's "What I Have Written" as a forgotten movie. I was around in '96 and I don't recall ever hearing about it. To be forgotten, people have to have been aware of its existence at some stage, right? The movie is basically a noble failure. It's experimental, but the experiment doesn't quite come off. It's the kind of movie you want to like more than you do, and it should definitely be better known just so its attempt can be witnessed by budding filmmakers.
The movie is strange and impressionistic. There is very little dialogue, but lots of monologue. Much of the movie is told through freeze-frames. This has the predictable effect of slowing the movie down so much that after a while you can almost hear the screech. You also, in all probability, start doing other things while you wait for something more interesting to happen on screen.
Nevertheless, it manages to tell a cohesive story. It's the sort of mature indie drama that was around quite a bit in the nineties. It reminds me of that other Australian flick from that era, "Proof", with Russell Crowe and Hugo Weaving. Unfortunately, none of the actors have their interest.
Watching an hour-and-a-half movie in freeze frame, with a new image every few seconds instead of the standard 24 images in one second, is like watching a snail cross the road. There's no point watching it for the whole journey. You can go away and do other things, come back, and check on its progress.
That's what "What I Have Written" is like.
The movie is strange and impressionistic. There is very little dialogue, but lots of monologue. Much of the movie is told through freeze-frames. This has the predictable effect of slowing the movie down so much that after a while you can almost hear the screech. You also, in all probability, start doing other things while you wait for something more interesting to happen on screen.
Nevertheless, it manages to tell a cohesive story. It's the sort of mature indie drama that was around quite a bit in the nineties. It reminds me of that other Australian flick from that era, "Proof", with Russell Crowe and Hugo Weaving. Unfortunately, none of the actors have their interest.
Watching an hour-and-a-half movie in freeze frame, with a new image every few seconds instead of the standard 24 images in one second, is like watching a snail cross the road. There's no point watching it for the whole journey. You can go away and do other things, come back, and check on its progress.
That's what "What I Have Written" is like.