Strange Factories

I watched the film at home. All by myself, in darkness and with headphones on. What an extraordinary experience. Strange Factories draws you into the story, it feels like a dream, something you cannot escape without going through it. The sounds and images creep into your soul. It shook my very own reality, left me in awe and in tears, searching for my own truth. It only scratched on the surface during watching the film. Afterwards it worked through me for weeks, questioning myself in a positive way. It awakens something, something that has been buried inside me a long time ago and wants to get out. I'm not going into the story as I think everyone should experience this incredible piece of art on its own. I've seen the film multiple times now and every experience is different and opens another door. Thank you FoolishPeople! I can't wait to see what more is to come.

This movie was two hours and eleven minutes of my life I will never have back. It comes off as a student film, one made by someone who has watched too much Lynch and Bergman repeatedly.

Let me give credit where credit is due. The costumes and music were good.

The black and white filming was not used to full advantage. Often, this was way too dark, especially on interior shots. I know that the idea was to create a dreamlike atmosphere, but the blurry shots were far too annoying. Also, have they never heard of a steadicam? If you are prone to motion sickness, don't even attempt this movie.

The plot? Some Andy Hardy meets LSD type thing. Let's put on a show, while we drink this fluid that makes us trip! But some guy has to put on a show for some festival. Or something. And from there, the cast is out of control, wants to do too much improv, and they all seem to not like each other very much, unless sex is involved. There is one shower scene that I feel was nothing but an excuse for the cast to feel up the actress.

I feel like this could have had potential if they had a decent editor. The last ten minutes were interesting. But the rest of it was overlong and exhausting. If you choose to watch this, remember. You have been warned.

Review of Strange Factories Live Cinema event at the Cinema Museum, London, UK as published in Londonist (http://londonist.com/2013/10/cinemamuseum.php )

Go down a dimly-lit side road to a doorway where you are greeted by silent, masked Chaplinesque characters. They inspect you, and after much furtive gesturing and whispering, you are ushered inside. You are invited to drink a small glass of an oddly viscous liquid, and you might be fortunate enough to peruse some pages from their manuscript — secretly, of course. You are taken to your seats within the red-velvet-curtained theatre, and the show commences.

Dark forests, a terrible, unfinished story which develops a strange life of its own, a tormented writer, a mysterious, horrific fire in an old theatre, a tragic clown, a binding contract, a beautiful, yet doomed dancer, sacrifice, Mr Punch, a play within a film, a vast Kafkaesque country estate from which there is no escape. Above it all, the ominous, throbbing hum of the Factory. What is it? Most of all, how does it end? This is what you may discover upon entering the darkened corridors of the London Cinema Museum for FoolishPeople's production of Strange Factories.

Immersive theatre pioneers, FoolishPeople have manifested a live cinema production that takes you deep into the heart of a horror film, albeit a surreal one. Their work is a unique alchemy of film, live theatre, artwork and location-specific dance and lighting to create an ambient experience which, in this case, is one of mystery and suspense. The intimate, spooky setting of the Cinema Museum contributes to this state of haunting, with its many antique film cameras, and posters. Look carefully among the exhibits on display, and you might also find some of the artefacts of Stronheim's Settlement and props from the film itself.

The film, written and directed by John Harrigan, is a labyrinthine story of madness, and your perceptions of reality start to blur as the evening progresses. What is happening on the screen and around you as the characters from the film come to life? Is it all just the imaginings of Victor, the tormented writer?

The suspense is drawn out over the course of the evening, until it reaches a powerful crescendo of drama and dance, immersive theatre at its best. One even begins to suspect fellow audience members of being part of the theatre, particularly as the intimate setting within the Cinema Museum and silent interactions with the characters encourage this. Definitely a performance for the curious and those who wish to explore. Be brave and venture within. Only beware of the machines

It was such a wonderful experience and I would hate to be the one to lessen the depth of experience felt by any of you when, as I hope you will, you decide to go yourselves. So I will try to transmit why it is so exciting without ruining the surprise. Easy.

The narrative of the night follows an Author searching for an ending to his story. Victor, the writer, is drawn to a settlement founded by the mysterious Stronheim where he finds his friends waiting for him. Victor makes a pact with Stronheim who offers to rebuild his theatre so long as Victor finishes his story, in the way that it should be finished.

From the beginning (before the beginning actually) the audience members are separated and made to question their position as passive spectators and their pre-conceived notions of what watching a film means. This unusual and dislocating process prefigures a whirlwind experience designed to disorientate and delight you. You move in and around the set as the plot moves and swirls around you. The experience is unbalancing but wonderful.

The underlying theme of the whole night is about storytelling and art. What is the creative impulse and how does it manifest itself? Why do stories seem to exist outside the mind of the artist, like an elemental force that is tapped by different people at different times but that is always the controlling force in the relationship? As the tension rises and the haunting lunacy unravels in front of you, you are forced to confront the destructive nature of art.

The surroundings of the Cinema Museum in Elephant and Castle is apt not just for its amazing hive-like building. Strange Factories questions the role of the modern audience by evoking the early days of the moving image when performances were just that, performance. The whole experience brings to mind a Lumière brothers screening that somehow involves a company of Commedia dell'arte players.

I found the entire night an inspiring and beautiful experience from start to finish. It felt like a hundred different storytelling techniques were used, drawn from the past few centuries and woven together to explore the age old questions of what art is. I was captivated from the beginning and the ballet crescendo struck a perfect end note to evening that felt like one long dance. It was fitting that a night celebrating the early days of the moving image should be so truly magical.

When I first saw the Trailer of Strange Factories I instantly wanted to see the whole film. Luckily I was able to visit London around the time when FoolishPeople screened the film at the Cinema Museum. What a perfect location. All events with FoolishPeople are always a surprise to me and they create unforgetable moments. I love that you never know where their stories will take you within. And I love that the film is held in black and white, the dark environment and the landscape. the mysterious and unknown. Mixed with the live part it has been an exciting experience. Every cast member lived their roles. We were guided through the Cinema Museum to explore the characters stories in a different way. Music and sound effects were perfectly chosen and merged with the film and the live experience. A very well created piece of art. It is definitely more of an art film experience to watch Strange Factories. For myself I can say I had an amazing evening and the film is definitely a creation worth watching. I would go see it again! FoolishPeople deserve more notice and I wish them the best of luck for their future projects and films. Can't wait to see what more is to come. A fan from Germany Mirjam