The Transcendents

Admittedly, I'm an editor so I pay attention to editing more than most people and most people don't pay attention to it at all -- nor should they. But the editing here has a very specific style that impressed me -- (a lot of this has to do with the DP and Director's style of shooting).

First -- In the scenes that take place in the modern day, there's a Bam/Bam "Smash Cut" style. Pretty much seems as though it represents the main character's anger and lack of focus on a revenge journey.

Second -- In the past, the scenes are clearly done with a heavily roaming handheld technique. I saw an earlier review that says this has to do with memory. It COULD. But I took it as a send off to "rock documentaries". In the past you see the band (The Transcendents) being formed and much like other rock docs, the camera crew is just lucky to be in the rooms and happy to grab whatever shot they could.

Finally -- There's these LOOOOOONG dolly shots that move into character's brains without any cutting. The characters go from being unreliable narrators to truth tellers before our very eyes. Its fascinating.

These three styles in editing, amongst many others in other departments make this film incredibly unsettling and a unique way of telling a haunting story of the past and present colliding.

It feels like a lot styles are bouncing off of each other in this film. It's a comedy but it's sad. It's a revenge story but it's not violent. It's colorful yet muted. It's extremely slow at points and jaggedly fast at others. I've watched it twice just to make sure that all this was done on purpose. It feels as though it was. Different camera styles is a choice. Lens', framing, lighting and editing were choices. The fact that it's a rock n roll band but there's no rock n roll, but rather opera as a soundtrack is a choice. So with that said, I at least know there's a reason I'm supposed to be watching what i'm watching. But there's just something that's a little off about it. I can't place it. Nonetheless, i'd definitely recommend the movie to people that like weird movies.

You can't do movies anymore like this. (not that this movie is not good) but you can't expect people to fall into a trance and get lost in a film. This is a super moody movie that you really need to not have other distractions when watching. I had my daughter crying, had to turn it off -- turned it back on, couldn't remember what happened. My husband starts yapping about a sports game -- had to turn it off. Turn it back on and can't remember what I was watching. It's not that people don't have patience anymore, but they are simply too distracted by other people to focus. I'm sure this movie is great in a nice air conditioned dark movie theater, but that's not how I saw the movie. And that's not how most people will see the movie.

This movie is a touching story about broken people. It really doesn't fit inside any one genre. It's funny but tragic. Exploitative yet sensitive. Trashy and artful. Grainy and colorful. The characters are ghosts and full-blooded human beings.

A lot of it feels familiar. But I can't place where it's borrowing from. At the risk of sounding ridiculous, it's almost like if Roger Corman made Days of Heaven. Or somehow if Malick made a Corman script.

All that to say: I'm glad I rented it. (I think. I really don't know what I saw)

Everyone talk about the movie being about a band without playing music, but they missing that it's about addiction without showing drugs too. The main characters all fall into a spell of abuse but we only see it mentally and how self destruction takes over. But thankfully we never see the drugs. Im sick of seeing actual needles and people doing drugs. Good flick. Definitely not a pause and break away from movie. Must watch in one sitting.