Acrentropy: Jax Film Fest: Day Three

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Sunday, May 22, 2005

Jax Film Fest: Day Three

After the marathon of films from yesterday (I don't think I've spent that much time in a theater in one day before), today was a bit more slowed down. The other thing to account for this was a pre-planned excursion with Mrs. Mosley to a local water park. Rest assured, when we returned from our fun in the sun, I got changed and headed to San Marco for another round of shorts for the day.

Keep Right is a simple action film of one armed man played by Lance Henriksen (Bishop in Aliens) chasing another played by Ewan Bremner (Spud in Trainspotting) in an underground parking lot. Although this sounded pretty unoriginal, I wanted to see it because of the two people involved. The short actually has a funny twist that I won't spoil here, but it makes it all original and definitely worth seeing. On a side note, these two actors recently costarred in Alien Vs. Predator, which makes me think that they knocked this thing out during a coffee break. If only my coffee breaks were this much fun. Eight out of Ten.

Desastre is a comic film about a man who was born French. That is, the first words he speaks are French (despite being born to American parents in the U.S.), he only has interest in French food, and so on. It's a broad satire, but it does work. It may go on a tad too long for it's own good, especially when a group of "French Resistance" shows up wearing black turtlenecks, goggles and baugettes strapped across their backs, but it's all still very amusing. Seven out of Ten.

Fields of Mudan is, like Moondance the day before, a short from students at Florida State University. This is a far more somber affair about a young Chinese girl sold into prostitution by her mother. It seeks to paint a portrait of this tragic way of life for some children, and it is genuinely touching. The outlook of the film is bleak but, really, is there any other way to depict child prostitution? See it if your interested in a good dramatic short. Eight out of Ten.

The Raftman's Razor is a quirky tale of two teenage boys who develop an obsession with a comic that is far more intellectual than those of their classmates. This is an odd story about odd kids and their odd comic obsession, so the people who will probably enjoy it know who they are already. It's cute enough and, unlike some other shorts I've seen so far, doesn't over stay its welcome. Seven out of Ten.

Mott Music is the true story of a historic Piano factory on a corner of the Bronx and the individuals who work there. One would think that such a subject would be sufficiently interesting in and of itself for a short subject documentary, but the filmmakers decide to go for a much artier approach with more discussion about the meaning and nature of music that the manufacturing process itself or the history. It creates a sluggish pace that nearly kills it. See it only if you're really interested in the subject matter. Six out of Ten.

(This can also be viewed at Blogcritics)

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