seanwanderlost

Okay, I think J did a good job of summarizing things that went on in his earlier review on this, so I’m going to take a slightly different route with this rant. Of course, I’m referring to his review on a film called Wanderlost from the Famous Monsters of Filmland convention in July. And yes, I do realize that I’m a few months late in doing this, but a promise is a promise and I fully intend to keep it.

So, at the convention, we happen to wander by a booth near one of the exits/entrances and we get approached by a gentleman bearing flyers for a movie. We get to talking and while J is deep in conversation, I happen to notice a trailer playing on a loop, which I decide to indulge myself in. From my days in working at a movie theater, I’ve been fascinated with trailers for some strange reason. And I’ll be the first one to admit, I didn’t quite know what to think after watching said trailer. No dialogue and indie punk music in the background. The trailer didn’t really show you much, so obviously I couldn’t get a feel for the film before the screening, much less gauge any expectations. And to be honest, that was probably what really sparked my curiosity, aside from the enthusiasm shown by the director.

I’m not going to talk much about story here (once again, J has already gone into this and I hate re-treading what someone else has discussed). I’m also not going into it mainly because it’s something you need to figure out for yourself. You see, this is a film that requires interpretation from the audience. During the screening, I began to wonder why there was so little dialogue as the silence seemed to go forever. Granted, there was some music here and there, but for the most part no words were spoken, aside from a few snippets here and there. But to me, this conveyed a sense of isolation, hopelessness and desperation which to me was meant to convey the world of the drifter to the audience. I didn’t actually realize that until I started writing this, and even though I saw this movie two months ago, that (until now) un-describable feeling has stuck with me.

Basically, what you’re going to see is a movie where the images speak volumes for this movie. They move the story, so you need to pay attention. More than likely, you probably won’t catch it all on the first viewing, maybe not even half of it. To be honest, I was actually frustrated after the screening, mainly because I had some holes in the story that I didn’t catch (although that was probably from the distraction of drunken asshats getting up and walking in and out for the first 45 minutes, but I digress). But that’s what really struck me about this film. I was so frustrated that something felt missing that I wanted to watch it again to see why I was lost.

Fortunately for me, I got to sit in on a Q&A that helped clear up the holes in my mind, but this sense of being lost at the end was such a good thing to me. Most works of cinema I tend to see are so cut and dry that you don’t really need to think about what’s going on. Mainly, these tend to follow some sort of movie-by-numbers kind of formula, so it’s more of a rarity where a movie comes along that completely disregards that train of thought. And it’s refreshing to see, especially in the horror genre. To me (and I did mention this to the director), Wanderlost kind of reminded of “The Brown Bunny” in that there was so little dialogue. However there are differences. Wanderlost was far superior, not a pretentious piece of crap, and there are scenes that stick out from Wanderlost unlike with Bunny, where the only scene people know of is the part where Chloe Sevigny gives a hardcore BJ on film.

One scene that still sticks with me is probably the dream sequence, mainly because of the feelings I have attached to it. So, the drifter starts hitting on this girl and they really seem to hit it off. Hell, he might have even fallen in love. For the whole time it seems, he’s been trying to run from what’s been following him. He’s searching for something: happiness, reversal of fate, peace of mind, whatever. He doesn’t want to succumb to it. But the imagery used, the shots utilized, it all has an effect on the viewer. I was actually quite moved by this sequence since a lot of things about the movie made sense, and it also hit home on a personal level based on some past experiences. And there was not a word spoken the entire scene (well, not that I can remember at least).

If it isn’t entirely clear, I loved this film and would love it if more people saw it and could appreciate it in the same way. Now, something tells me this won’t get the attention it truly deserves since most want to see a story that spells everything out for them so they won’t have to devote too much attention. And unfortunately that’s what’s wrong with the most of what’s put out today. We don’t want to watch anything that makes us think about how we feel, we just want to be entertained. If you’ve been paying attention, at no point in the above did I ever refer to Wanderlost as a “movie” as I tend to feel there is a difference between “films” and “movies”. Movies simply entertain, and don’t get me wrong, there are plenty out there that are successful at doing just that: entertaining the audience. But every so often, a person really needs to watch a film. They need to be presented with something that goes against the grain, makes them think, utilizes their sense of interpretation. Frustrate the viewer, I don’t care, just make them feel or react in some deeper fashion. And I think that is the best thing Wanderlost does. Regardless of whether you love it or hate it, you’ll feel something.