Maritime Preview

First Frownland. This film polarized audiences last weekend. Ugly closeups, difficult dialogue, and a cacophonous ending all contributed to a sometimes unenjoyable but unforgettable experience. For me, a college student graduating during an economic downturn, Frownland was a powerful expression of the anxiety of being over-educated with no apparently useful set of skills. I invite any readers who saw the film to chime in, as I heard many conflicting opinions coming out of the theater and during our discussion afterward.

This week brings an OFFscreen double feature, beginning with the short film "Glory at Sea." I don't want to write too much about it on the blog, because I think to demystify this film in writing would do it an injustice. Let's just call it a post-Katrina Orpheus and Eurydice. The film is available on YouTube, and I will post it here after our showing this weekend. That said, it won't be the same on the computer monitor, so come! "Glory at Sea" created a huge buzz at the South by Southwest film festival, with many touting it for the jury award. In the end it won the Wholphin Award for best short, and has done quite well on the American festival circuit.

Our feature presentation this weekend is Peter Hutton's At Sea, originally released in 2007. The film was included in the Museum of Modern Art's May 2008 retrospective on Hutton (scroll to the bottom for information on At Sea), and should provide some breathtaking images for OFFscreen viewers. The piece is a non-narrative story about the life and death of a container ship, combining horrific and sublime images of man's power to create and destroy. OFFscreen's last venture into similar visual waters was Our Daily Bread, Nikolaus Geyrhalter's unflinching vision of industrial food production. It should be of some interest that OFFscreen will present At Sea in 16mm format. Newcomb's theater is not equipped with a 16 mm projector, so we have found a portable projector to place inside the theater, allowing everyone to witness the physical, mechanical act of projection. As usual, "Glory at Sea" and At Sea will be shown at the Newcomb theater at 7 and 9:30 this Sunday, February 1.

For trailers and links please continue reading after the jump.

"Glory At Sea Trailer"


At Sea Links

Excellent article on Hutton from The Plugg.

Blogger reactions here, here, and here.

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