Wild Tigers I Have Known

Any of us who had to deal with the awkwardness of early adolescence in Middle School will certainly be able to at least appreciate this film. Anyone who is/was gay & dealing with the same angst will be able to strongly relate to the central protagonist. This is a quiet,slow moving film that seems to channel the kindred spirits of Gus Van Sant (who, by some chance is one of the executive producers of the film),Kenneth Anger (mostly known for his experimental films with a gay theme back in the 1960's),and Derek Jarman (another openly gay film maker that we sadly lost some years back from AIDS),who like the two former,had a strong gay theme running through his films (there was almost always full frontal male nudity in his films),and was no stranger to experimenting with film (his final film 'Blue' was his most boldly experimental film that was ballyhooed by critics & audiences,resulting in it's distributor pulling out). 'Tigers' seems to be a first film for it's writer/director, as a certain level of self indulgence is obvious. Wild Tigers I Have Known would probably be a contender for a film festival that is targeted at a (mostly)gay audience, although one doesn't have to be gay to appreciate it.

My fear in seeing this movie is that it would evoke a feeling of exploitation of a child and make for a very uncomfortable viewing, or a similar feeling of sickness I felt while watching Mysterious Skin, a painful film to watch yet an excellent film. However, I was surprised, this is a visual wonder into the mind of an outcast and his sexual awakening. In fact I found myself relating and remembering my awkwardness towards sex at that age and the gray emotions of trying to understand what I was feeling, emotions and confusion not limited to sexual preference or even gender, just the desire for another and not knowing how to correctly move forward or interpret. The director does a brilliant job and the cinematography creates the mood with music, natural images and hallucinatory visions into this teenagers mind. The young actor, Malcom Stumpf, gives a perfect performance as the outcast, who does not mind that he is not liked by others or uncomfortable with who he is becoming, I hope to see more rewarding work from him in the future. Fairuza Balk turns in a great performance as his frustrated mother trying to relate and get through to her son. At times it feels as if she harbors resentment towards him, but she truly loves him as we see in a very real moment as they lay in the grass. This film was a pleasant surprise and I am glad that I did not pass it by as planned.

I'm kind of on the fence with this film. While I found the visuals to be interesting, the actor, Malcolm Stumpf, to be really good, and the concept pretty interesting, I found the film to be pretty hollow. The film is pretty much about this kid who basically is going through that awkward stage in which he isn't totally sure who he is and what he feels and, as a result, makes some mistakes. This concept can be effective when done right. Look at WELCOME TO THE DOLLHOUSE or L.I.E. This film, WILD TIGERS I HAVE KNOWN, in a way, works. It works in it's awkward staging of events and works in creating an isolated world in which this kid doesn't really seem to have anybody that he can personally relate to. However, the film is also extremely lifeless. There isn't any kind of energy to the scenes and the tone, not even sad energy. The whole film has plenty of opportunities to explore these little events in an interesting way and only halfheartedly does. The kid may or may not be gay, but he never really seems to care either way. Maybe if the film had allowed him to show some sort of feelings toward his own-self then it would have been a more interesting film to watch. I applaud the filmmakers for crafting this together, considering the subject matter. I understand that teenage sexuality is a difficult topic to explore and craft a film out of. However, the film just doesn't seem to try to even explore the idea in any way. Sure, one could say that WILD TIGERS I HAVE KNOWN is honest, but that's only because it doesn't take any chances trying something new. It's so weird because the character of Logan reminded me a lot of myself when I was his age, but I was unable to relate to him. He struck me as boring, as a matter of fact, which is more than I could say about myself at the time. Perhaps I'm just trying to find things wrong with the film, and in all honesty it isn't a bad film by any means. It just seems like a missed opportunity to me. I know that it's possible to make something out of this concept. I just feel that twice as much effort would have helped it a lot more.

Instead of making a fascinating film about the development of a "crush" in adolescence, the filmmaker has managed to create a hollow story that goes nowhere, develops none of the characters, and is apparently attempting to be poetic and arty about the subject of sex involving a boy's obsessive love for a fellow classmate.

The dullness begins with the opening credits which are so blurry that you're left wondering just what it is we're supposed to be observing. Unfortunately, that feeling never lets up even as the slim story moves forward, never letting us see or feel what the main characters are thinking or even doing. Instead, we get a series of close-ups, dull conversations, and it becomes painfully obvious that the abstract subtleties will continue in the same vein throughout without ever giving any real glimpse into the childhood fantasies gnawing at the central character. The attempt is made but it fails to involve the viewer.

None of the performances are worth commenting on--not the mother (whom we never understand or get to know), nor the boy playing the maladjusted youth. Only PATRICK WHITE shows some semblance of understanding his role as the handsome, open minded youth who doesn't mind being the target of infatuation and is open to an approach by the most unpopular kid in class. He registers the correct mixture of surprise and rejection in the cave sequence where he has been led to believe that a girl wants a sexual liaison with him. Other than his one note performance, all the others are even less impressive. The doting mother is a character that is never fleshed out by the script or the performer.

The self-conscious artistry of the whole work is wasted because there is no real story, nor is there a satisfying ending.

Summing up: A total waste of time on a subject that should be explored in a more serious, detailed and sensitive light by a good independent filmmaker.

Keep in mind, this film had a budget of about $50,000. That is peanuts relative to movie making. Consider how many names are in the end credits, then film processing, assuming it wasn't shot in digital, then distribution cost. I'm sure there are 50 people listed in the end credits, that's about $1,000 apiece, except given permits, insurance, cameras, sound equipment, lighting, and countless other details, it is probably more like $250 apiece. How do you hire people to make a movie for only $250, if even that? Plus, yes, the movie was 'stylized'. It was intended to be haunting and mysterious. I thought some of the Subplots could have held together better, and I though the editing could have been smoother, and more clear relative to the story, but for the minuscule budget they had, they did a pretty good job.

The movie was made in 2006 and we are still talking about it. I watched in last night on Netflix, it did what it was intended to do within its tiny budget. That is, I could see the Directors underlying intent, even if he didn't have the budget to do the best possible job. Many of these low budget films are really film exercises for young directors, writers, actors, etc.... They all need a starting point. They all need to do some low budget 'concept' films to prove their worth for larger films.

Because I love Independent Film, I can excuse some imperfections and take the budget into consideration when I judge a film. I judge this film to be pretty good within the proper context.

The above is a copy of a post I made in the "Wild Tigers I Have Known" IMDb discussion, but I think it serves as a worthy review. This movie is worth watching to see actors and directors trying to make a movie out of a starvation budget, and I think they did a pretty good job given what they had to work with. I say it is worth seeing.

EDITED:

I watched Wild Tigers again today (May 12, 2013). This is probably the 3rd or 4th time I have watched it, and it still holds together as a look into the haunting mind-scape of a 13 year old boy coming to grips with who he is. Malcolm Stumpf (Logan) is truly haunting in this role, and given how little he had to work with, I think he did an outstanding job. This is a highly stylized movie with journeys into the dreams and fantasies of this boy. But I think it is a movie anyone who tries can relate to. I repeat, if you love indy film, then you will like this movie.

EDITED:

I watch Wild Tigers again (2015) and it still stands up. In fact, I'm thinking of watching it again (still 2015). But admittedly anyone looking for standard Hollywood Blockbuster fair is not going to get this movie. That's OK, not everyone is required to like every movie.

In another review someone (Sammy) quoted Roger Ebert, and I think that quote best characterizes this film - "You instinctively understand that a film is not about WHAT it is about, but HOW it is about it." This is not a linear PLOT movie. Character A doesn't go to Place B and say thing C. This is a journey through the internal Dreamscapes and Emotions of an isolated and alienated 13 year old boy. It is an abstract film. I think my total viewing has now reach about 5 or 6 times, and I have the urge to watch it again.

You have to take this movie for what it is, not for what you want it to be. But ... if you simply don't get it ... that's OK, not everybody has to get everything.