Living in Oblivion

Film about filmmaking. It takes place during one day on set of non-budget movie. Ultimate tribute to all independent filmmakers.

It should come as no surprise that the director of this film learned the trade under the wing of Jim Jarmusch. The film has a very Jarmusch quality to it, and if it had his name on it I would not have been surprised. Especially the black and white scenes. We also get some great guest stars -- Steve Buscemi, obviously, but also Catherine Keener and Peter Dinklage.

Not everyone will like this movie. It is a movie for those who make movies, and for those who love the making of movies. Especially independent films with little or no budget.

Funny, absorbing and smart movie about a no-budget film and the people trying to make it. The movie plays around with reality and dreams without getting too obscure or serious. It's well-done, well-acted (one of those rare movies where the entire cast is great), very funny and very smart. Naturally, this bombed...it was TOO intelligent for mainstream audiences and how do you market a film like this. But it plays on IFC all the time and it's basically one of the best films of its year and one of the best on the art of films and filmmaking. If you even slightly like movies, you have to see this. Don't miss it!

Indie director Tom DiCillo has produced a small (as yet) body of work, but has shown consistent flair for making movies which exude great affection for his characters. This affection is contagious; the actors seem to relish their roles and in turn many viewers will share the enjoyment.

Indie stalwarts Steve Buscemi and Catherine Keener (who's graced four DiCillo movies) shine as director and actress on a trouble laden indie shoot. Keener does a virtuoso turn in a scene calling for her to perform the same take over and over, each time with less and less conviction.

"A Box of Moonlight" and "Real Blonde" while having comic sides to them, also have much depth. "Living in Oblivion" is an outright comedy; it's lightweight, but very funny.

For all of us who have worked on a film production before, watching Living in Oblivion is an honor and an enjoyment. For once you have experienced what it is like to work in that kind of atmosphere with that group of people, you accept it even more. A story about a director making a movie, Living in Oblivion holds many true tidbits and crazy moments that occur regularly on a film shoot. The relationship between the director and the D of P, the treatment of the actors between the other actors and the crew, and most importantly, how a director holds himself with one member of the production with another. Altogether, you got an amazing film that tells it like it is. A pure, a true enjoyment.

I'm also an independent director. Yes, I've made movies. And if you don't know what it's like, then this movie will tell you.

This movie was shown to me on the first day of film school. I don't know if they were being ironic or simply warning us for what would come in the next two weeks, but as a director who would then go on and direct my own film over those two weeks, this movie is painfully accurate and very hilarious.

When I first went into this movie, I thought it was some sentimental thing about the art of making a movie and the spiritual journey your soul goes on or whatever. But it's not. Again, this movie speaks to me, and is just so funny, just because of the way that it's relatable. I would definitely recommend all aspiring filmmakers to see this one, partially because it is demonstrative of the often-hilarious Murphy's Law-esque antics that happen on film sets.

You know a film is good when you have a theatre full of film students laughing their heads off every ten seconds. And that was exactly what was happening. This was actually the first movie I saw back in the theatre after an almost-2-year-long pandemic-related hiatus, and it really was genuinely a great film to see on the big screen.

The movie has a really unmistakable style, with a lot of clever colour-to-black-and-white switches to signify the difference between the film world and the real world which I really enjoyed. On top of all of that, everyone delivered excellent performances which elevated the comedy of it all even further.

One of the best comedies out there, and a must-see for indie filmmakers. Thank you MFI '21!

-Sasha.