dima-12

Joe Dietach made his thesis film THE FOURTH HORSEMAN while studying at Dodge College. In this film you can recognize elementa that will be fully formed in his full-length debut HAPPY HUNTING co-directed by Louie Gibson.

Dietsch makes a post-apocalyptic Western out of this story and accomplishes to make a film that is moving to more or less foreseeable conclusions and yet he makes it work by being fully committed to the story. This the twist ending delivers one of those preferrable outcomes - an unexpected and surprising while fully-fleshed and believable counclusion.

This is a thesis film but it's muscular. It is resourceful and brimming with the kind of energy George Miller used to have when he made his proper MAD MAX films.

In some cases, thesis films fail to anticipate that are coming. This one properly introduced us to the talent of Joe Dietsch.

This is literally a camera test and having it as a separate and autonomous work instead of a blooper or BTS snippet is probably a prank by Joshua Oppenheimer.

I gave it a 7 because he shows decent framing technique and just to sort of mark it as seen since I will be forgetting it in no time.

But in reality, this film actually shouldn't get any star-rating. It's literally a camera test.

Joshua Oppenheimer later went on to make powerful works with great camerawork so I guess it's good to know such an accomplished visual style starts with babysteps. Right?

At the same time, I know this review won't keep hardcore Oppenheimerists from checking it out.

Hatice Askin film HOUSE WITH NO ADDRESS is really a disgrace for every festival that screens it. Instead of burying it deep or shelving it, they trick people into expecting a dystopian world and a story that has emotional and intellectual resonance while the only thing that they actually get is poorly understood Kafka and most of all Lanthimos.

I am not a huge Lanthimos fan, truth be told, but he is a respectful director whose work should be taken seriously. I am saddened every time I see a film like this Hatice Askin work which shows how many awful things came out of his success.

Production design is sterile and even some of the Turkish soaps have more exciting visuals than this film. Acting is wooden and performed by actors who lack any discernible charisma.

This film is witless and most unfortunately rather dull not just in terms of rhythm but also in terms of tech credits.

Only the completists who write some historical and theoretical overviews of dystopia in cinema need to see this. Others beware!