Use
of Budget
At
$2,000, Long Time Sunshine definitely boasts a lot
of movie for not a lot of money. It's an interesting story
- one that definitely needs to be told. There are some good
visual elements, and some great music. However, I think
that the film could perhaps stand to be shortened a bit
- perhaps by cutting out some extraneous scenes, and maybe
including a little more back story on the characters. There
are also a few technical problems that could be addressed
in post or fixed with a re-shoot.
Lasting
Appeal
Suicide
and depression are taboos in our society. No one really
likes to talk about them, so the issue just gets skirted
around or swept under the rug. As someone who has known
people who struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts,
I applaud these filmmakers for daring to make a movie that
confronts the issue of suicide head-on - it really does
take a lot of guts to address it.
That
being said, however, I don't think this film will be able
to find a large and accepting audience. Those who have either
attempted or contemplated suicide may be sympathetic; however
the consistent theme of suicide - and especially the scene
in which Paul is slicing into his arm - could potentially
be a trigger rather than a form of therapy. Anyone who has
had a friend or family member commit or even contemplate
suicide will probably find Long Time Sunshine too
disturbing to watch. However, someone who's never been exposed
to this issue may not understand the point of the film and
just become bored with it. I think it would be a good idea
to shorten the film a bit to exclude a lot of extraneous
information, include a little more background on the characters,
and perhaps change the ending a bit. It's important to educate
people on this issue, and film is a perfect medium to accomplish
that task.
Overall
Comment
It
is a topic seldom addressed by filmmakers, which makes it
all the more impressive that Mr. Petlansky chose to make
a film about it. However, many people might find this film
too disturbing to watch, and as such it loses a lot of the
impact that it may have had. I will say, though, that it
is still noteworthy that Long Time Sunshine addressed
such a tricky subject in such a matter-of-fact way.
-Disclaimer-
The director of Long Time Sunshine is offering free
copies of the film, and I would encourage all of our readers
to take him up on that, as this really is quite a good movie
(visit the MySpace site for details.) However, some people
may find this film disturbing and potentially triggering,
so please watch with caution.
If you
or anyone you know are having thoughts of suicide, please
call either of the national hotlines at 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433)
or 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255), visit http://suicidehotlines.com
for local hotline numbers, or call 911. If anything should
be taken from watching this film, it's the fact that suicidal
thoughts should not be taken lightly!
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Content |
7.2 |
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Visual
Look |
8.1 |
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Use
of Audio |
8.3 |
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Use
of Budget |
7.5 |
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Lasting
Appeal |
6.0 |
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Overall
Score |
7.4
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