Use
of Audio
There
wasn’t a lot of music in this film, just some introduction/theme
music over the opening credits, but I really liked it. Though
I did think it might be a good idea to introduce a few more
bits of score in certain places, such as at the bits of
narration in the documentary, and during the more dramatic
parts of the movie.
The
audio and dialogue was quite good, though I noticed that
sometimes the volume dips a bit and it’s rather hard
to hear. Helmut’s voice, particularly can be difficult
to understand at times, since he’ll go from yelling
at the top of his lungs to whispering in a matter of seconds.
This is a great character quality, but a soundman’s
nightmare. In addition, I noticed that the audio of the
art historian echos a lot. This was probably due to there
being too many reflective surfaces in the room in which
the footage was shot. Both of these issues can be either
cleaned up in an audio software program, or perhaps by some
ADR in post.
Use
of Budget
For
a feature-length film, Disturbing Images’ $6,000
price tag is quite impressive. There was a large cast -
all good actors with impressive resumes; several different
sets – including Helmut’s studio/loft apartment
which I really liked; and some very nice camerawork. This
is even more impressive when you consider that the majority
of the budget was used to buy the essentials – equipment
and software – meaning that these filmmakers probably
scored a lot of their talent and sets for free. However,
I do think that more time and care should have been spent
on better organizing the script and editing the final project.
It’s a really good story and telling it in documentary
form is a great idea. However, in it’s present form,
it’s just too confusing for an audience to keep track
of. I would encourage these filmmakers to perhaps get together
with a screenwriter and/or editor who had no connection
with shooting the film in the first place and try to re-organize
it into a much more cohesive story. Disturbing Images
really has some great qualities to it – like the acting,
for example – and it’s a story that really deserves
to be told.
But
when Helmut seduces a member
of a local pastor's congregation...
...The
pastor decides he must put a stop to Helmut, no
the cost.
Lasting
Appeal
Even
though this film is billed as a comedy, I didn’t really
find it all that humorous. It was more contemplative than
anything else, as well as being slightly disturbing. I really
liked the documentary aspect of the film (even though I
do think the editing needs a bit of work,) and I took away
a couple good lessons from it.
As an
artist myself, it’s easy to be drawn into the “anything
goes” world of the Bohemian, where the objective becomes
not to make good art that will benefit society, but instead
to make the most outlandish product that will shock anyone
who comes to see it. Artists tend to be driven to become
the next Picasso that they will throw anything out as “art,”
and find themselves waxing eloquent about creations they
don’t care about simply to get ahead. However, on
the other hand, as a religious person I must not let my
faith cloud my judgment or become too critical of art that
I don’t like at first glance. Faith and art can co-exist
peacefully if given a chance – each can serve to temper
and enhance the other. But far too often they find themselves
butting heads and causing chaos.
Overall
Comment Art is by nature controversial. Each new movement of
artists sought to push the envelope of acceptability by
forsaking the ideals of their predecessors and venturing
out into uncharted territory. But as each new movement arose,
there came a rousing sound of protest from a shocked and
offended public. Whether from Goya’s anonymous Nude
Maja, Manet’s scandalous nudes in Olympia and Le Dejeunur
sur L’herbe, Duchamp’s urinal “water fountain,”
or Picasso’s disturbing World War II imagery in Guernica,
a viewing public has often responded negatively to any strange
or unusual trends in the art world, only to later hail such
artists as geniuses.
The
trend today is now for artists to attempt to follow in the
footsteps of their predecessors by pushing the envelope
to such extreme limits in hope that they will be recognized
for their contributions in the future. But the danger comes
when the art becomes so extreme that it takes over the artist’s
life and threatens to destroy the lives of those around
him as well. Though Helmut’s story is fictional, it
could serve as a warning to both the artist and the viewer
– there is such a thing as an artist going too far,
but the same holds true for those who find said art offensive
and unnecessary.
The
author of half a dozen screen plays, two novels, and a proficient
camera-woman in her own right, Monika
DeLeeuw-Taylor is Microfilmmaker's lead writing analyst and
one of our top film reviewers. When she's not writing a critique for
Microfilmmaker, she's writing screenplays for Viking Productions.
