Pâté

I can't get over how beautiful this film is. I saw it at the LA Shorts Festival last week, and after sitting through the usual grim, little stories, this film exploded off the screen with colors and visuals and set design that just blew you away. But the film's more than a visual feast (and you need to see the film to understand how appropriate the word "feast" is!), it's also an intelligent look at relationships, between mothers and daughters, and between men and women. As a woman I found the allegory particularly strong, and the conclusion a shocking reminder of the constant battle for dominance. I warn you, there's some shocking scenes, and I applaud the director for taking on issues and images that too many other directors shy away from (or use for simply suferficial crasseffect). A totally original film that I know will be classic.

(PS. I checked out the LAShorts Fest web site later and found that it didn't win, which is a sad reflection on the jury. They went for a little safe film that sums up the festival really).

Do whatever you can to see this film! Pate is a post-apocalyptic 30-minute original short that grabs you from the first frame and never lets you go - an amazing tale that will stay with you long after the movie ends. It's about an aristocratic family that is coming to terms with its need for survival. I won't spoil the end of the story, but all the awards this film is winning are well-deserved, especially since I heard the the director is in her 20s and just finished film school at NYU. It may be a low budget film, but it sure doesn't look that way - well shot, well-edited and well-acted. Bravo.

There's a primal level at which all of God's creatures exist. It's always funny to me when, as humans, we speak of the "animal kingdom" as a separate realm from the kingdom which we seem to feel we inhabit exclusively. The film Pate reminds us that though we may have come far in our evolution as a species we still find ourselves tenuously balanced over the precipice of deevolution. It reminds us that while having evolved mentally,(we like to think), far beyond our fellow earthly inhabitants, that physically, at an instinctive level, perhaps we really haven't evolved at all. That indeed these primal instincts, deep within us for all these millions of years, are far more firmly entrenched, and consequently far stronger, than our evolved, superior, intellectual powers. They are in essence our driving force.

One of the great pleasures of the movie going experience for me is what I call the "what if?" challenge. A movies ability to show us, and if well done as in the case of Pate transport us into, a world apart from our own, presenting us with situations that beg us to ask, "What if I were there, if I were in that situation? What would I do?" Pate presents this challenge superbly, utilizing one of the ultimate "What if?" settings, a postapocalyptic world, wonderfully brought to life through meticulous attention to detail in the set design and beautiful yet haunting cinematography. The challenge presented by Pate takes us to unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory though, where the question isn't simply "What if?" but rather "What if I have NO choice?!". We watch as the characters in this film try desperately to retain some semblance of their former, aristocratic, preapocalyptic selves, clinging to anything human they can salvage from the carnage that is their new world, hoping to hold on to some of their fading humanity amongst the collected nostalgic artifacts. The desperation with which they cling to their past, mirrored by their denial of their present, is grotesque in its gaudiness and consequently the beautiful artifacts become ugly, rather than pleasant, reminders of better times.

I appreciate it when a filmmaker presents his/her audience with a film that takes us out of our comfort zone, and forces us to think. I greatly appreciated Pate for this reason. Pate treated me to a visual feast that filled my senses much more completely than its namesake could have hoped to fill my stomach, and left a satisfying albeit disturbing aftertaste on my intellectual palate. Like its namesake though I have a feeling that Pate is just the appetizer of this budding and talented young filmmakers career. I eagerly await the next course!

This film has more user comments than most short films (more than most feature films!). And it's not surprising. When I saw this film a couple of months ago in LA it provoked more discussion than any film I've seen in a long time. Love it or hate it, you can't ignore the power and sheer force of the director's vision. Darker than even Jeunet and Gilliam (obvious influences), Pate challenges like few films do these days.

I also found it darkly humorous, something that most of the audience seemed to miss (or am I just sick?). But most of all, it is the artistry of this film that takes your breath away. Colors that flood your brain and a richness that overwhelms your senses. A work of pure beauty.

This film is visually one of the most impressive that I have ever seen on the short circuit. The concept and look has a Darren Aronofsky/David Lynch feel, but at the same time is completely unique. While the concepts are extremely outlandish and often absurd, the superior directing and art design pull them off with ease.