5th World

5th World may just be the best American Indie to come along in the last 5 years. Nods to Tarkovsky, Bela Tarr, Maya Deren and, of course, Cassavettes, are evident in this devastatingly beautiful love story, which deserves to be seen by a wide audience of sophisticated cinephiles. Not everyone will fall in Love with this film, nor appreciate all of its magic. Blackhorse Lowe is as exciting a new voice as Apichatpong Weeresthakul, and hopefully will continue to create more challenging, provocative features. The Performances are also something magical, the improvisational dialogue is pitch perfect, and the visual palette is lush and soothing. BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO!

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of the French New Wave. The film begins with the two characters listening to an interview with Godard (I think) and the movie is clearly influenced by his work, particularly VIVRE SA VIE, with its focus on the beauty of the female lead. The movie is slow paced (and with low-fi production values), but it wonderfully captures the sense of atmosphere, space and the slowness of time that seem to be an essential aspect of the story. This movie is certainly not for everyone (and it is not flawless), but I would number it among the most affecting and powerful movies that I have seen in the last 5 years.

Saw the 5th World over at the Phoenix Film Festival. The local newspaper trashed the film. Wanted to see and make my own opinion. Thought the acting could have been better. I actually thought the Aunt & Uncle dialog was great, would have liked to see more close ups. The narration on the film at the beginning I trouble with. You don't know who is taking and I had a hard time trying to make a connection. The best part was seeing Ernie & June performing. Would have loved to see a real love scene. The scenery was beautiful no doubt about it. I thought the actors did not do a good job getting the emotion out. Their there to tell a story. Don't think the director got the best out of the 2 main actors. The ending or conflict was great, loved that a lot, but the middle of the film was boring. I think the director has objectives & goals, we either got it or didn't get it. Well, I kind of got it, but it could be better. But I do hope Blackhorse keeps making films and does not give up. I will keep seeing Native American productions!

I agree with SAS. This movie was terrible. I cannot believe it was even considered for the festival never mind shown. I guess I was most frustrated when the same shot of the sky and clouds was shown for the 5th time and instead I could have been out looking at the real sky from the slopes of Deer Valley. The director is probably a talented individual and I understand he made the movie for less than $300; however, those two items did not make for a good film. Sundance should be very ashamed that it showcased this film. Regardless of the ethnic content and alleged symbolism - if the true meaning of the film is that hidden, I contend that there was no meaning.

I honestly don't know how this movie made it into the Sundance Film Festival. The only possible reason this movie could have made it into the Sundance Film Festival, is to meet some kind of ethnic quota. The idea behind the film is a solid one, but the film fails to capture the intended effect due to the lack of plot, lack of narrative direction, lack of character development, and more than anything, Amateur film technique. In closing, I will say this: If "5th World" represents the low end of the quality scale for Sundance Film acceptance, then I no longer worry about competition. Hopefully I won't be "this" disappointed with any more films at the festival this year.