White Face

This clever and courageous critique of the rhetoric of race relations is as serious as it is funny, and is as satisfying a piece of entertainment as it is a powerful educational tool. Strongly recommended, and should have been a "Best Live Action Short" Oscar contender!

This short is enormously funny, and just about perfect in its playing out of the basic concept. The history of clown immigrants, clown language, and clown ethnic slurs are all hilariously covered. It is extremely sharply made, without a second of flab or an idea that does not serve the story and raise it to new heights of hilarity, as well as surprising poignance and relevance. In the short program of films I saw at the Seattle film festival, this film stood out like a looney in a bowl full of dimes (canadian reference); not only was this film vastly more entertaining than the tediously arty, quirky, or experimental efforts that surrounded it, it had a lot more to say. Make an effort to see this one.

I rarely see a documentary, short documentary, or especially short MOCK-u-mentary that I enjoy. They can be too arty, too sophisticated, or just plain silly (which is usually the case). We all love "Spinal Tap" (though not exactly short), and "20 Dates" was a joke. There are some, such as "Delusions in Suburbia" (or whatever that one is called about the tattooed guy who gets himself shot for a new "look"), that are so-so, but normally, I'm just not that into it, mainly because they are usually shoddily made, and improvised. Normally, I find, the filmmaker is just trying to screw around with his friends with their mini-DV camera until one of them actually gets to make a real movie like "Species III."

Anyhow, to leave this disparaging rant, I just found "White Face" quite endearing and real. It almost WAS a documentary on race relations in America today. There were no jokes, and therein lies the true humor Brian McDonald and his team conveys so elegantly. He creates a reality and sticks to it, so that the impeccable script that Brian wrote (so realistic, detailed, and scrupulous in fact, that many people I know thought that the actors were just improvising) really makes it seem as though clowns truly are a race in America today that are having the same trevails and tribulations as any other minority.

I found the entire film quite clever, as well. McDonald made sure to leave no stone un-turned, as he had plenty of vivid photographs of "the old days" for clowns, had a terrific set design that really looked like the houses of these clowns, and always made sure to add that certain something, such as the clown who is talking about his future next to his son clown eating ice cream, or the old woman clown who speaks about her child marrying "outside the family" to a mime, or even the "professor"-esque clown with glasses and such, always making sure to use the most eloquent of phrases and vernacular. Tip-top.

My personal favorite, of course, being the clown who has yet to learn the English language, and must say everything with a horn, honking all the way, only communicating through subtitles. What makes this even better is that McDonald's script allows the clown to not only speak in this way, but actually makes it as if the clown were speaking some unknown Russian dialect or something, like an immigrant who just entered the country with lots of, "Yes?" at the end of each sentence, and the like. "America is now place for clowns," just had us busting a nut practically.

Really check this one out. I'm sure it will have you just as excited as I in the end. Great example of how really knowing your shit with screenwriting, editing, cinematography, and sound design can make something that COULD be a big joke into a true piece of work (much like "Being John Malkovich" or other recent pieces that have been "comedies" without telling any jokes, per se... the humor lies in the seriousness, and that's not as easy as these fart/dick jokes everyone is telling in their "Road Trip"-esque movies these days).

I saw this film on Cinemax. It is a modestly funny mock documentary about discrimination against clowns. The film features interviews with a doctor, auto mechanic, aging woman, and a university professor each of whom has overcome the barriers of latent and explicit prejudice against clowns that has dogged them throughout life. Worth a look.

An incredibly clever piece on racism that allows us to laugh at and learn from.In all my viewings I have been most amazed by the reactions of caucasians that watch with me. They seem the most offended by it, where as the people of color that have also seen it, seem to enjoy it and accept it as a reality of what is. Brian McDonald should be lauded for taking racism out of the black/white paradigm and giving it back to us in a fresh and different form.Well directed with full character arcs(almost non existent in shorts) and just plain entertaining(once again another thing rarely seen in shorts). Check it out if your interested in racism,in clowns or if you just want to laugh, then pass it on.