Short Film Critique
Tumbleweed!
Director: Jared Varava
Expected Rating: General Audiences
Distribution: None
Budget: $7500
Genre: Comedy/Western/Biopic
Release Date: March 10, 2012 (SXSW Premiere)
Official Website: http://www.anillusionofmovement.com
Trailer: N/A
Watch Online (If Available): https://vimeo.com/29761450
Running Time: 7 minutes
Critique Issue: #77 (07/12) )
Critiqued By: Jeremy Hanke
Overall Score: 10.0
When I think of California microbudget royalty, there are three filmmakers who come to mind: Mike Flanagan (Oculus, Absentia) and Jared & Justin Varava (The Shadow Effect, The Fourth Man). The two couldn’t be more dissimilar, as Flanagan delves into creepy horror shot with cutting edge digital cameras and the Varava brothers tend toward surreal comedy/irony shot on tried-and-true super16mm and 35mm film. However, both film auteurs have held highly coveted spots on our critique list (Flanagan was the first to receive a perfect 10 for a feature with Absentia, while the Varavas received a perfect 10 for their short, The Shadow Effect) and both have successfully used Kickstarter to fund their most recent films.
For their first foray into digital (at least that I’ve seen), the Varavas (Justin wrote andd Jared directed) went with the RedOne (which is arguably the highest end digital rig that most microbudget filmmakers can afford to rent and still stay microbudget). But what to tell with this digital exploration? Why, what else? A Western tale about a tumbleweed, of course!
But not just any tumbleweed, of course. A loner tumbleweed who marches to the beat of his own windstream!
Tumbleweed! (Short Film) from An Illusion of Movement on Vimeo.
Content
I didn’t intentionally hold off critiquing this film until we could embed the video, by any means, but, I have to admit, its a lot easier to show a Varava film than it is to tell you about it! Half of the magic comes from what they show you!
For me personally, I loved the fact that they were able to take a story about the most ordinary western landscaping and turn it into a protagonist! Humans are used to explain the naming of the tumbleweeds, but the true anthropomorphizing is reserved for the weeds themselves. The fact that they’re able to tell a successful tale which is quite akin to the tortoise and the hare with weeds is both impressive and inspiring! (I grew up in the desert plateaus of Eastern Washington, so tumbleweeds and dust devils were a constant companion. I never dreamed I would see my old friends turned into something so intriguing!) Honestly, the ability to step that far out of the box is what takes the content of this film from an 8 or a 9, to a 10.
Visual Look
The Varavas know their way around cinema cameras and make sure they get great cinematographers. Damian Acevedo did a great job with the look and feel of this film, which, considering how brief and surreal it is, was definitely needed. The color grading and use of a variety of different forms of film-damage effects to simulate different film stocks was well thought out, as was the editing, in general. I believe this was the first film the Varavas used CG on and the use was subtle, but quite believable and impressive. (In fact, if I hadn’t known they used CG, I probably would have assumed almost everything was practical.)
Use of Audio
The score by Tim Rutili was excellent and very fitting to the type of History-channel style featurette they were going for. The narration by Gabriel Meyer really helped humanize the tumbleweeds and the overall sound design and mix was great.
Use of Budget
Considering how much of this film depended on wide shots that are hard to cheat with bad conditions, catching shots at just the right time of day, and augmenting shots in CG post, the budget for this film is right on. The amount of time is actually more comparable to a claymation film, so my hats off to them for pulling it off.
Lasting Appeal
Would I watch this film again? Yep. Would I show it to people I know? Yep. In fact, the film offers enough of a commentary on marching to the beat of your own drum that I think our new friends over at DarkestGoth Magazine might want to take a look at it!
Overall Comment
While I still wish the Varavas would do a feature film, you can’t argue with their track record for short films. For an intriguing nugget of speculative fiction that goes so far afield (no pun intended) that it actually works, it’s hard to improve on Tumbleweed! (Well, aside from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but that’s not really in the same category!) You have to give them credit, not only for the creativity of the tale itself, but, because of their body of work, they were able to convince people to financially support a campaign to add CG to a short film about a tumbleweed! (I don’t think even PT Barnum could’ve pulled that one off!)
Breakdown
|
|
Content
|
10 |
Visual Look
|
10 |
Use of Audio
|
10 |
Use of Budget
|
10 |
Lasting Appeal
|
10 |
Overall Score |
10.0 |
How do we critique films? Click Here To See. |
23 Comments
Id like to invite envryoee to a post I’ve just published honoring the TV show “Big Valley”, and also actor Peter Breck. Included with this post are 2 personal recipes that was sent to me by Peters wife Diane, so please stop by and say hello and share your memories of this classic TV show. Richard
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