indie film 17 by Articles Uncovered
Published Date: 25/09/06
The indie [independent] film circuit is a blessing to those of us who are obsessed with movies but who cannot always wrap our brains around pop culture blockbuster type story lines, dialogues, and sets. The indie film, that is, is like an attic in the winter: you go to it to uncover the best kept secrets of the house, to listen to just the rain on the roof, to read, to think.
Yes, indie films are for intellectuals, for the avant-garde, for the philosophical ones, for the artiststhe poets, writers, painters, filmmakers, playwrights, sculptors, digital craftspeople, photogs.
Consider the works of the brilliant Todd Solonz, works which appeal in a morbid, but realistic (as in the genre) way. Welcome to the Dollhouse, for example, features the stoic schoolgirl who is burdened by the malaise that comes with living in suburbia with an anally retentive computer geek of a brother, a princess baby sister, and emotionally unavailable (or clueless) parents, and who goes to school with the typical Stepfordesque peerssave the nasty boy from the other side of the tracks (who is a terrific foil in this film).
Stuck for a choice of what indie film to watch? Anything with Parker Posey (Sleep with Me; Party Girl; The House of Yes). Anything directed by Quentin Tarrantino. Anything directed by David Lynch (be sure to see his college thesis equivalentwhat I guess they call graduate film?--: Eraserhead). Anything done by the Coen brothers (Fargo, The Big Lebowski, Raising Arizona; Barton Fink). Aronofskys Requiem for a Dream. Memento. Anything [else] with Francis McDermond. Anything written by Eric Bogosian (Suburbia; Wonderland; Igby Goes Down). Richard Linklater works (Waking Life). Vincent Gallos indie films (such as Buffalo). Spanking the Monkey. Best in Show. Chocolat. Any indie film with Simone Signoret.
I could go on, but instead, should give you some independent film databases, so you can read the blurbs and decide based on your preferencesfor dark comedy, documentary, dramatic. So here are a few sources I find wonderful:
IMDB (Internet Movie Database)
Indy Wire
About.com (though the spelling slips in a couple of places, and the host makes a false jab at Nicolas Cageharrumph)
Reel.com
Microcinema International
GreenCine Daily
Screensite
Filmmaking.tv
FilmFestivals.com
That should get you started milling about the attic, where not too many people are hanging out, but where plenty of the best spirited ghosts will walk through the attic and archives with you.
>>Return to Home Page<<