La lampe au beurre de yak

"Butter Lamp" is an incredibly simple film. It consists of a variety of Tibetans being photographed in front of a variety of backgrounds that are obviously NOT in Tibet. You see families posing in front of such settings as tropical beaches and even Disneyland Hong Kong. And, in the end, when the cameraman and his assistant are leaving, you get a chance to see where the photos are being shot. During all this, the focus of the film camera is fixed--and never moves once. Technically speaking, it's a very simple film and there is nothing to the story other than seeing nomadic people being photographed. Oddly, I heard a few people in the audience laughing hard during this film but there's very little that's funny about this film. It does have some points to make about progress, society and, perhaps, about changes being forced on the Tibetans. But it also left me wondering why the film was nominated, as I keep waiting and waiting for SOMETHING exciting or innovative to occur...yet nothing seemed to happen.

It is a film for feel it. Not a real story, acting or atmosphere. Tibetan people front to fake backdrops. A photographer and his assistant. The mayor of village and his announcements. And the impression to discover a so old world who can be saved, at the memory level, only by photos. The sweet / bitter taste is the basic gift of this short film. And its special poetry . A film about lost worlds, itinerrant photographer and a butter Lamp to Potala Palace. The old lady and her piety to the fake backdrop of Patala Palace, the young man and the butter lamp are pieces of this beautiful, in profound sense, film, defining, in delicate manner, the viewer of it.

Wei Hu's Butter Lamp is a short film that would be the kind of profound statement on culture, a generational divide, or a shifting time period if it actually had something remotely compelling to say. It concerns a photographer and his assistant as the two men work to create photos for families that stand before a large backdrop, which can be chosen from a wide variety of different landmarks and settings. We see old and young people alike stand before the backdrop, pictures snapped, and small talk exchanged for sixteen minutes.

Anyone remember taking a trip to that quirky photography place at the mall with your family and how agonizing it was to stand still for five minutes while all the members in your family had to perfect their poses so they can receive a portrait that will collect dust on your mantle? Imagine watching the first part of that play out in a short film with nothing remotely compelling to say outside of casual small talk between the photographers and those being photographed.

Usually, I can appreciate such low-key craft, but that craft has to have some element of commentary, realism, or humanity within it and Butter Lamp is the very definition of a short with a great idea that isn't carried out in the slightest. Being that this short hails from France/China, is this a commentary on the conflicting generations or the byproduct of "old and new" demographics within the respective countries? Wei Hu never develops the short beyond its basic idea and that makes this entire endeavor incredibly flat and disappointing.

Starring: Genden Punstock. Directed by: Wei Hu.

'BUTTER LAMP': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

A 15 minute French-Chinese short film; which was nominated for an Academy Award, for Best Live Action Short Film, at the upcoming 87th Academy Awards. The short is about a traveling photographer, photographing Tibetan nomads; in front of various backdrops. It was written and directed by Wei Hu and features a variety of inexperienced Tibetan actors. I found it to be pretty simple and the least impressive of the 2015 Oscar nominated live action shorts.

The film tells the story of a photographer, and his assistant, photographing Tibetan nomads; in front of different (fake) backgrounds. The entire time the camera stays still, as the villagers and backgrounds keep changing. At the end of the movie, the viewer finally gets to see where the photos are actually being taken. There's no story, or real character development, throughout the entire short.

The film is humorous, for a little while, but even at 15 minutes it seems kind of long. I kept waiting for something more to happen, but nothing really does; until the very end. It is a good idea for a short, but it should have been even shorter (in my opinion). I think the filmmakers were trying to say something about the Tibetan people, and their changing culture, but it's not real clear. It is a beautiful film to look at though.

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