June 16, 1998

Showings:
June 16 - Colonial Promenade 5, 5pm

Short films traditionally suffer from one or more of the following shortcomings; poor scripts, acting and sound. While inherent to the nature of the beast - produced for zero money in zero time by inexperienced crews and talent still in the process of learning their craft - it is the odd gem that seeks to work within the limitations and produce an inspiring work that makes it worthwhile sitting through them. Unfortunately, shorts are also the Orphan Annie of festivals, as demonstrated by the light scattering of heads at the first showing of this set of 5 films, collectively titled "Polyrhythms".

'10 Seconds' should have been that long; despite some fluid camera work and editing, it seems to have little to say and appears to be some sort of diatribe on the 'eye for an eye' barbarism of retribution (sorry, justice) as a man is given 2 minutes to run for his life. Maybe I missed something.

'There goes the Neighborhood' offers some intriguing insights into the nature of immigrant politics in East LA; a black man, referring to Arabs, complains to a chicano that 'before you know it, we'll have Ali Baba and the forty thieves around here'; after racism has been directed at the blacks and hispanics, this film explores reactions to an Arab ice-cream vendor when he short-changes a chicano kid. 'I'm just trying to make a living', he pleads. The real star of the film, however, is the '66 Chevy Impala that they drive - 'Oye, como va!!'

'Don't Run Johnny' falls into that category of 'trying desperately to be different' as it injects humor into an exploration of a man coping with being diagnosed HIV-positive. The visuals - black and white images of a Blues Brothers attired man, well, running, would you believe it, said very little to me. The filmmaker dedicated the film to someone who had died of AIDS, but I'm afraid that I have no idea what he was trying to say.

'Bembe!' is intended to give some sort of insight into the Hispanic culture of Miami,. using a dance club as the catalyst. At almost 40 minutes, it struggles to maintain interest in interweaving various strands of characters into a whole, and my concentration drifted after about 10 minutes, proving the old adage about shorts; keep it short!! 'Dynamic', as it is billed in the program, is the last adjective I would use for the work. Great titles, though, and some great boleros.

'Mouse' provided an encapsulation of what can be accomplished in 10 minutes. Using just one setting, a pesky mouse that bugs the shit out of a guy serves as the catalyst for his girlfriend to gain some insight into his character - she wants to know what his reaction would be if she fell pregnant; but he's too involved trying to catch the mouse. An allegory for the cat and mouse games that dating couples play ("there are always 10 more where that one came from"), the fine performances from the leads and deftly paced direction make this the pick of all the films in this section.

Peter Lewis A true African-American, Peter has led a peripatetic lifestle, and after graduating from UCF with a film degree, he is pondering life as another wannabe, devoting his time to working on a novel, his thesis film, a suntan and the dubious benefits of Rogaine. Other Articles I've Written