Copy Shop

Terrible quality and it is a torture to watch it. Made in 2001? Maybe it is a mistake and was made in 1901.

it is difficult to say why. but it is it - a fascinating movie. for story and for technical manner to make it. for references to the early history of cinema and to Franz Kafka literary universe. for the brilliant music and for the admirable idea. for acting and for the great effort to create a parable about the essence of film, society and ordinary fears. it could have many interpretations. but important is its simplicity. and the wise way to transform in a film who impress in deep sense. because it has the art to become yours story. a warning. a trip in memories and black utopia. to remind the vulnerability front to technique. or to remind the stereotypes who are bones and muscles and skin of our lives. it is easy to define it as masterpiece. for reasons who are not from artistic area.

Stylistically akin to the likes of Guy Maddin, David Lynch, and Bill Morrison being shoved into a blender, 'Copy Shop' is a joy to watch. The visual flourishes are not only charming and fun, but also really help add to the overall surreal, creepy, yet funny atmosphere the short is going for. On a technical level, pretty much everything here is great. I've already mentioned the glorious visuals, and it is essential I also praise the wonderful background score! It helps add to the bizarre dreariness of the entire depicted situation, it heightens the madness of the Kafkaesque chaos unravelling before us, and it is just fantastic music in its own right. Any fan of weirder, more avant garde type filmmaking should seek this one out soon, it's readily available on the internet and in great quality.

A man who works in a copy shop decides to take a picture of his hand. As he muses over it, we realize that the copier he uses has a supernatural ability to reproduce this man. Copies are produced in geometric progressions until the city is filled with copies of this guy. As much as the plot is interesting is the speculation about what happens to all these copies at the end. A really interesting concept.

A young man who works in a photocopying shop photocopies his hand with amusement one day. However the photocopy then kicks out copies of him earlier in the day etc. He turns the machine off and locks the copies away. However he finds copies of himself repeating themselves all over his town as things begin to get out of hand.

I had very high hopes for this before I watched it because I had heard good things about it and I was mainly satisfied afterwards despite a few problems. The story could be taken as an allegory of cloning or several other things. I ignored the subtexts and focused on the fact that it was simply a clever idea at heart. Technically the film is brilliantly imaginative and worth watching. The film was shot digitally. These digital images were then all photocopied and then animated. In terms of the plot this adds eight to the copying subject but it is also an very different way to make a film.

The slight downside is that the grainy images and rough style can be a little hard on the eyes at first, but I soon forgot this as I watched it. The plot is very clever but it is just one idea. After several minutes the novelty and the freshness wears off and it starts to outstay it's welcome – I wanted it to go somewhere. The ending is good and it saves the film just as it was starting to run out of steam.

Overall I enjoyed it and there's no doubting the imagination and technical ability that went into making this. In a world where Being John Malkovich is praised then this too should be appreciated as it has similar shots if not ideas. Well worth a look – plus it's easily the best (the only!) piece of Austrian cinema I've ever seen!