Camera

Richard Martini's "Camera" is an ambitious - yet, addictive independent film encompassing intrigue, comedy and adventure. An inside look into the lives of several people - via the one digital camera they all buy - it's a compulsively magnetic piece that shows flair and creativity on behalf of the helmer. It's got no budget and it's got no buzz - but "Camera" is a rare delight, and especially interesting to see Martini can draw in some fine cameos by people like Jack Nicholson, Oliver Stone, and Angie Everhart.

Bravo Martini - we look forward to your next project.

There are a couple of funny scenes in this movie - the Carol Alt scene is convincingly creepy enough to be effective (the outtake in this case proving the point rather well), and the scene on the Golden Gate Bridge is good for a laugh. But basically I don't think the whole thing worked. Among other things, it's unclear why nobody in charge of this very expensive camera seemed capable of using it well, holding it steady, framing shots or aiming it consistently. Perhaps that's characteristic of the sort of people who buy hot cameras at shady pawn shops, but you'd think that someone might have taken the time to practice. I suppose it could serve as an object lesson in the many inappropriate ways a camera can be used, but if that's the point it's a blunt one. It doesn't succeed in transcending the amateurish work it portrays and, presumably, mocks.

I liked the DVD bonus feature "Video Valentino" better.

Story of a video camera that goes on an adventure around the world. It's stolen, pawned, bought and generally goes in and out of bedrooms, shoots commercials, follows the life of an average ordinary video camera that goes around the planet until it winds up in the hands of filmmaker Richard Martini.

It's idiotic.

The camera is supposed to cost $37,000 and can't even shoot a clear frame at all in the course of this movie.

My $30 camera has better video.

It's truly a stoopid idea that is poorly executed. You will hate it.

This is my film. I took the camera on the trip around the world, and the film only cost me $300 to make. I submitted it to the dogme95 group in Denmark because it had all the earmarks of a dogme film - no special lighting, no extra sound, no costumes, makeup - not a genre film per se - and they sent me the certificate. I'd like to clarify that neither Oliver Stone nor Jack Nicholson appear in this film - they're look alikes that do a hell of an impersonation. That's the magic of this film - you don't know if what you're looking at is what you're seeing. Especially the sequence with Carol Alt - and it really is Carol Alt - but it's an incident that actually happened to her in real life, and she's quite brilliant doing the improv that we did, the first take, in Santa Monica. The second take some guy came over and knocked me down for harassing her. That was pretty funny. But WARNING - this is a movie hobbled together, shot on DV camera, and done for $300. It looks like it was made for $300. Please don't be disappointed by the cheezy quality. That was the idea. I want to inspire anyone who has a DV camera to pick the dang thing up and make your own movie! Rich Martini