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Reviews
Somewhere to Stay (2023)
A test between faith and family that leaves you heart-struck (by Jackson Green, Winchester Film Festival
Somewhere to Stay is a powerful story told in under twenty minutes. This short film challenges the viewer to consider whether absolute devotion to one's family or one's faith is better, and it explores a real-life event that occurred in Iran. Amirhossein Hatami wrote and directed a compelling story, which pits a father and son against one another in a test of faith versus family.
Hatami's silence between the characters within the first few minutes creates a dark atmosphere and holds onto that mysterious tone when conversation breaks among the characters. The continued "circling around the problem" draws the viewers' attention, as they want to discover what the father and son's argumentative conversation is regarding. The rapid back-and-forth dialogue between the son and father added tension to the scene, keeping the viewer engaged as the narrative progressed.
The son, Rashid, repeatedly battles his conscience as he struggles to follow his father or follow his own morals. Hatami's foreshadowing with the original panel on the boats is a powerful motif, and the sense of tension, anxiety, and peril drives this story to a dramatic performance. The scene only shifts a handful of times, creating a condensed atmosphere where the narrative excels, engaging the viewer in the actors' performance.
Somewhere to Stay, being a short film, pulls at the viewers' emotions and makes a concise narrative feel like a full-length movie. This is director Hatami's first short film, and by no means did he disappoint. While there were a few elongated moments that could have been shortened, his theatrical storytelling of this real-life event awed me and left me pondering the difficulties of loyalty between one's faith and one's family.
The Lies We Tell Ourselves (2023)
An authentic film with prospect, but lacking attraction (by Jackson Green, Winchester Film Festival)
The Lies We Tell Ourselves is not your traditional film based on a linear narrative or plot. This motion picture challenges the constraints of cinema and the process of filmmaking, addressing the difficulty many directors face when trying to produce a film. Saara Lamberg adds a strange and peculiar twist to this mockumentary about filmmaking. Lamberg stars as herself in this film, exploring the world of filmmaking, but she adds random deviations from the "central story".
There are moments of voiceovers from reviewers about the film, title cards with messages from the director to the audience, and arbitrary scenes that don't necessarily add to the story, much like a Brecht-style performance. For such an eccentric film, these diversions work in some cases but fall flat in others. For instance, there was a therapy scene where Saara interacted with a psychologist, who did aimless exercises to "help" Saara, and they were beyond bizarre. Still, the scene added comedy and forced viewers to think about the difficulties even directors experience. Society holds directors on a high podium, but this film brings to light some raw experiences directors face. Alternatively, this unpredictability diminished the effectiveness and understanding of this film. A scene with Lamberg crawling across what seems to be an attic, drinking wine and repeating questions over and over interrupted the main narrative, pulling the viewer away from the central storyline. It was an unexpected scene, invading the progressing narrative and leaving me confused as to why it was included and what it did to benefit the film.
One clear component of this story that both the audience and the director can agree upon is that they don't know what this film is. Whether that is an attraction or an aversion, there is no question that this film is as authentic as they come. As explained in the film, this motion picture is being written as it is filmed, and there is a uniqueness to that which most motion pictures don't pursue. Lamberg's exploration of the film industry challenges the questions of 'What is art?' and 'What makes a good film?' It was entertaining to think about these questions throughout the film and have Lamberg remind us of these topics ever so often.
Atop the film's delving into filmmaking, certain aspects detracted from this complicated film. Lamberg imposed countless voiceovers as the director discussing her film, and this complimented the questions asked, the storyline, and the effectiveness of specific scenes. However, it became too invasive toward the end. It felt as if there was an equal amount of dialogue between characters as there was between the director and the audience, and it deterred the viewer's engagement, stretching out the film's impact the more it did so.
I had to sit with this film for a few days and ponder how Lamberg's film left an impact. Over the course of those few days, this film grew on me with its raw purpose and exposure to filming on a low budget; however, it left me ultimately unfulfilled. It is a strange and complex film with no goals, but it seeks to be inquisitive into your mind and the mind of the director. It is confusing and plotless, but artistic and authentically challenging. The film keeps you guessing, yet there is no predictability or surprise. A truly outré film and a variant within the industry, and as we've learned, variants are not always bad, but they do not always herald satisfaction.