Change Your Image
Sanjuro-13
Reviews
Frameup (1993)
Positive comments about Jon Jost's darkly humorous film
I really enjoyed watching this film. The story deals with a couple on the road who try to grasp at the mythical American Dream. The film walks the line between being hilarious and moving, and I was left with an odd feeling at the end of the film. At first I found the acting strange, but I began to see what the actors were doing, and they were doing it very well. The performances are very engaging, and they are skillfully subtle. The film has a cast of 3 speaking roles and you can tell by the techniques employed that this is a true independent film. Like other indies such as Tarkovski and Jarmusch, Jost (who does just about everything behind the camera), is a fan of the long take. Several of the shots in this film are static and you're forced to stare at an image for a long time compared to most Hollywood films. This is not to say that the film is boring, because it's exactly the opposite. The dead-pan dialogue is delivered in such a way that you're caught of guard by some of the creative lines in the film. "What? What did he just say? Atomic what?" As well as using long static shots, Jost also uses stop motion animation in conjunction with live action, and split screens abound in the film. Even if you don't love this film, at least you'll come away from it having seen something new. This film is inspiring to anyone who is tired of the usual slop that Hollywood tries to force upon us every year. It's ironic that the films that are the most creative are often the most hard to find. If you can get your hands on this film, by all means do so.