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The director’s understanding of film and its interaction with light and filters help give this film its unique look. (For more detailed information, you can read the interview he did with Kodak: Click Here) The high-contrast, blown-out look adds to the harsh feel of the film. While I liked Wedding’s use of color film, I thought it was misplaced. The colorized scene is toward the end, when Gracie’s body is sitting in the Patient’s rocking chair. Because this is in color, the viewer assumes that this scene has some significance, but it is impossible to tell what it is. I feel that the bookend scenes with the priest and nun should be colorized instead, so that it gives the audience a clear delineation between the “real world” and the “dream world” of the Patient. This distinction (or lack thereof) made it very confusing for me the first time I watched this film, because I couldn’t quite tell where one reality ended and the other began.
Use of Audio
The use of voice-overs was an excellent choice on the part of the filmmaker. Personally, I am a huge fan of VO, because there are just some things that cannot be expressed other than directly from the character’s mind. However, I do wish that the director had included the dialogue of the priest and nun. While it does make sense that their dialogue can't be heard (because the film is mostly from the Patient's point of view and he can't hear what they're saying), it would've been nice to at least have some low, whispered, indistinguishable voices to go with the subtitles.
None of the film's ambient sounds were recorded on location; instead, it was all added in post. This has two advantages:
- the sound quality can be controlled and manipulated as needed and
- the only ambient sounds present are the ones that the filmmaker specifically wants. It is this "lack of sound", so to speak, that enhances the film and adds to its artistic quality. There is no extraneous noise to distract the audience from the story that is being told. The scoring and dialogue are, on their own, more than enough to compensate for the "stripped-down" sound. Of final note is the phenomenal soundtrack by Scott Hallgren. The piano-and-string infused music is by turns ethereal, mournful, and intense, while the haunting vocals performed by Seay include whispers of prayers and softly-sung Latin chants, continuing the film's strong religious themes.
Use of Budget
Film is almost never a cheap medium to film in, even if is in 8mm. So the fact that Wedding was able to do a 27-minute project for less than $1,000 is phenomenal. The entire budget was spent solely on purchasing, processing, and transferring the film. All of the labor (cast, crew, editing, soundtrack, audio editing, etc.) was done in exchange for favor trades, and the cameras and lighting equipment were owned by the director. The lesson here, boys and girls: if you're going to shoot a project in a pricey medium 1.) try to have as much of your own equipment as possible and 2.) call in all of your favors and try to work out beneficial labor trades with friends.
Lasting Appeal
Because this is an avant garde film, the lasting appeal is limited. While a general audience will likely find the film boring and somewhat confusing (due the slow pace and dream/reality shifts), this will be a film that you will want to watch again if you are a fan of artistic, avant garde films.
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Content |
7.0 |
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Visual
Look |
7.5 |
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Use
of Audio |
8.5 |
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Use
of Budget |
9.0 |
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Lasting
Appeal |
7.0 |
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Overall
Score |
7.8
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A
powerhouse in management, Kari
Ann Morgan successfully produced a feature length film before
coming to work at Microfilmmaker as Assistant Editor. In addition
to writing for the magazine, she's been successfully working with
various distributors to get microfilmmakers the chance for theatrical
distribution. |
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