Relax...Take a breather and watch the newest film by Omar Fast currently on projection at Postmasters Gallery...but only if you want to sit passively by and pretend to see the deep meaning and culture reconciliation that the art world is still driving towards. "Regarding the Pain of Others" expounds the Director to police officers who disrupt his scene in the newest film, "Take a Deep Breath." Through out this film, which eventually becomes a filming of a film, travels through the misunderstandings and biases of all his actors and crew members on the set. If someone doesn't fit the part (profile) than just replace them but eventually you can't replace the problem - the root cause - our judgments of others and profound understanding when we come to realize that our enemy is really just someone who's story we don't know yet. There's plenty of story here just little narrative.
I though I sat through this idea once already in the Hollywood's brainchild known as "Crash." In the most self-indulgent moment of the film, the director sits dumb founded next to the recently fired actor and realizes he is not so different to himself after all. He lends him his phone to his fellow man as a gesture of communication and understanding. Really? I think not. For Fast, regarding the pain of Viewers, indeed!
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Gee, Robert, you were a bit harsh...
ReplyDeletePersonally, I enjoyed 'Take A Deep Breath'. Though the acting could have been better, I feel that the film was unique and right on. A majority of the video art I've experienced has been monotonous and trite. At least this one attempted to have a narrative; which I found entertaining and refreshing. I liked it because it was easy to follow and wasn't desperate in trying to be ‘art’. That aside, I do feel that the plot was a bit underdeveloped and its message could have been delivered more effectively. You are right in comparing it to ‘Crash’ because it is a cheaper version, but I have to admit that ‘Take A Deep Breath’ was a nice piece and I actually look forward to Fast's next project.
ReplyDeleteThis project certainly fell outside the general category of films exhibited in galleries and museums lately. It did indeed play more like a movie as opposed to a moving picture of a car burning. The drawback of a plot, and a multi-layered one, is that it can be quite confusing at first what exactly is going on, especially when viewers walk in partway through the film. Rob, you are right to question the authenticity of the “deep meaning and culture reconciliation” for in the end one is left unconvinced that this film is making a profound statement about our narrow-minded culture. For those that have not seen the film, it would have been nice to see more of a description of its contents, but otherwise an honest, insightful review!
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