Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves

I also had the rare opportunity to see this lovely short. I feel that it captured the essence of what we all go through at one of the essential turning points in our lives. In this case the journey of a young girl who is captured in a small town and the decision she has to make for her future. It was haunting and intoxicating with strong performances and visual images. I would like to see a full length feature of this story and see more of the journey. For me it was one of the special highlights of the Los Angeles film festival. Andrea Janakas the writer/director did a wonderful job of re-creating the tension and questions raised in the late 1970's. Almost mirroring today's dilemmas.

My husband and I, both filmmakers, were fortunate to catch this gem at the LA Film Festival recently. We were both stunned by the beauty of not only the story but also the performances as well as atmosphere. Most shorts lack substance or hit us over the head with a punchline. The film was eloquent, thought provoking and above all captured teen angst in 1979 with such an intelligent aptitude for storytelling. It made us nostalgic about our teenage years and the uncertainty of the world at that time. It also made for a timely message in today's time and the world we live in. The score and music in the film also nicely added to the period as well as the beautiful moments of snowflakes floating in the sky. It was refreshing to see something subtle yet provocative.

The best I can say about this film is that it was beautifully shot. I didn't understand what the characters were about, and there were several instances when I wasn't even sure who was speaking. There must be something going on underneath the action that I'm not perceptive enough to understand, so I would like to see it again. But it's like a lot of other independent shorts I've seen, where it seems to be trying to say something without actually saying it. The director said she was considering going to feature length with it; if that's the case perhaps she would be able to better explore the motivations, the characters, the circumstances. As it was, the short format wasn't able to convey any of that to me.