Indie Special - UK Film Club 18a

00:00:00.81
Brian Penn
It's getting colder and it's getting wetter and rainier, but you know, we've got to be positive, haven't we, really? You know?

00:00:09.42
ukfilmreview
I actually think we had a pretty good summer this year. I think it wasn't too bad. um

00:00:15.11
Brian Penn
Yeah, we we we have a fairly low bar, don't we, when it comes to a good summer? When you think about it, don't we?

00:00:21.44
ukfilmreview
Yeah, I think so. But there were a couple of good weeks and the summer itself actually was was generally warm.

00:00:31.54
ukfilmreview
I always think as well, if I haven't had to put the heating on, then hey, you know what? We must be doing something all right.

00:00:35.94
Brian Penn
that's that's a victory is that hey we don't need we don't need the centurion on in June so we must be having a proper summer somewhere you know kind of makes sense isn't it yeah i know you know yeah we've got to be a glass is half full rolled and half empty haven't we kind of people yeah well no not yeah give it time though give it time i don't know

00:00:39.02
ukfilmreview
yeah

00:00:43.30
ukfilmreview
yeah There's no other way of looking at it. and

00:00:51.94
ukfilmreview
Exactly, and it's it's not a half full of rainwater yet. um Yeah, it won't be long, it won't be long. It's weirdly now, you know we do we often talk about it on the pod, but and we are now inching towards Christmas.

00:01:08.07
ukfilmreview
i hate It's kind of starting to become acceptable to talk about Christmas, I think.

00:01:09.50
Brian Penn
I know.

00:01:12.34
Brian Penn
Well, ah yeah I mean, you're already seeing the themed mince pies that appearing in the supermarkets.

00:01:18.30
ukfilmreview
Yes.

00:01:18.55
Brian Penn
You know, you think, God, it's only barely September, really. But I mean, it kind of makes makes you aware that they're they're gearing up. And so should we be gearing up, I guess.

00:01:28.22
ukfilmreview
There was a phase of my life, probably my 20s, where I was very full on about Christmas, that I would start it very early.

00:01:34.66
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:01:36.16
ukfilmreview
I think it was when... a lot of the coffee shops kind of took it on right they started doing like you know these seasonal drinks at like October and I started to now I mean like sort of late 30s I've got two kids and I know for a fact I have to preserve all my en energy for like the last section because it is so tiring that I do kind of um I am a bit more like do you know what we can wait we can wait a bit before we start talking about it all

00:01:40.49
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hmm.

00:01:52.61
Brian Penn
Hmm. I know, I know. You, you delight, you delight for a bit longer. I think look you always know when Christmas is getting close is when you start to hear Christmas songs. aren't on the radio.

00:02:10.68
ukfilmreview
Yeah, in the shop. So you go in the shop and you're like, why are they blasting wham?

00:02:13.55
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:02:15.85
Brian Penn
I know, I know, you know, they talk about one again, which I think is almost impossible really to avoid listening to last Christmas, but we have to accept it's on its way, Chris. I love Christmas anyway, generally, but you know, you you do kind of, it does seem to creep up on you earlier than every year, you know, but there you go.

00:02:36.54
ukfilmreview
Well, anyone listening is probably thinking, guys, it's September, what's going on?

00:02:36.65
Brian Penn
It's all

00:02:39.98
Brian Penn
I know it's September. yeah It's awesome though. It is awesome. So I think it's legitimate.

00:02:43.49
ukfilmreview
Yeah.

00:02:44.86
Brian Penn
You know, we'll be thinking about Christmas films soon.

00:02:47.44
ukfilmreview
Exactly. I mean, it's we should really be talking more, you know, it's sort of like back to school month. It's that sort of, you know, but I don't think that's a genre.

00:02:53.17
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah.

00:02:56.31
ukfilmreview
Is it? Can you think of any back to school?

00:02:57.37
Brian Penn
Back to school month. Well, not really.

00:02:59.36
ukfilmreview
Hmm.

00:03:00.09
Brian Penn
You've got these high school comedies, haven't you? You know, they the um the kind of coming of age on the cusp of adulthood type movies. so kind of straddle schooling generally, but then they're always um almost always more American than they are British. aren't they

00:03:17.79
ukfilmreview
There's quite a few films where yeah the protagonists are approaching that coming of age moment and it's like the it's the last summer before they go away and they like sort of yeah let loose and realise that all these friendships are now going to be put to the test and all that sort of stuff.

00:03:25.72
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:03:28.66
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:03:32.82
Brian Penn
and Yeah.

00:03:37.63
ukfilmreview
so this is good

00:03:38.62
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:03:38.87
ukfilmreview
in that sort of category but you know the the back-to-school thing I think it's not something really anyone particularly wants to talk about because like parents don't really like well parents do like it I guess but it's stressful and the kids don't like it.

00:03:40.88
Brian Penn
Yeah. No, no. ah

00:03:50.56
ukfilmreview
so

00:03:51.27
Brian Penn
but Maybe it's just not very fruitful. It's not a very fertile area when it comes to filmmaking generally. that you There's nothing to draw on there, I guess, really. So it might seem a slightly tame material for a film, perhaps.

00:04:06.92
ukfilmreview
Well we have some very dedicated listeners, so yeah if any of you out there know of some good films that are back to school type of films, send them in.

00:04:12.04
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah, yeah, definitely.

00:04:14.13
ukfilmreview
Let us know. If you've seen them, review them. i'm Always happy to read reviews.

00:04:17.68
Brian Penn
Yeah, absolutely.

00:04:19.20
ukfilmreview
and Getting a lovely little selection of reviews. we We're not going to read them on this show, we'll read them on the real, the big proper show which we'll do at the end of the month.

00:04:25.91
Brian Penn
the but Yeah.

00:04:27.25
ukfilmreview
um What this show is, this episode of UK Film Club, is going to be dedicated just to indie films that we've had, because in August we received an absolute ton of them.

00:04:37.58
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:04:38.86
ukfilmreview
um There was a lot that came in, we did our best to cover some in the previous episode, so this is like ah an additional episode that we're doing to cover them. um So anyone who's new to UK Film Club, but this is your first episode, I mean you're very welcome to stay, you're very welcome to listen to the whole thing,

00:04:55.69
ukfilmreview
But the format is slightly different.

00:04:55.84
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:04:57.45
ukfilmreview
We're not going to be reviewing the cinema releases. We're not going to be doing the Netflix or streaming film. And we're not going to be doing nostalgia or listening reviews. This is just purely indie and short films in this episode.

00:05:11.71
ukfilmreview
And we've got six.

00:05:12.05
Brian Penn
Mm-hmm.

00:05:13.37
ukfilmreview
So we've bumped it up. We've given you a nice bumper crop of indie films to review.

00:05:16.75
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:05:19.15
ukfilmreview
So listen to me and Brian have sinned them all.

00:05:19.69
Brian Penn
Mm-hmm.

00:05:21.95
ukfilmreview
And I've actually reviewed a few of them on the website that was me who reviewed them so yeah I'm looking forward to discussing those as well as the new ones which I've been able to watch with Brian we have clips from some of the films not all of them sadly we have clips or promos or something from some of the films to give you a taste of what they're like and yeah we're gonna just kick things off because there's no there's no structure here we're in the Wild West we can do whatever we want we can talk about Christmas for 10 minutes and that's absolutely fine too

00:05:25.67
Brian Penn
Yeah. Wow.

00:05:48.96
Brian Penn
I know we can do what we want. Yeah. And we already have that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

00:05:55.59
ukfilmreview
and So yeah, let's ah let's start off with a film I reviewed. um I absolutely loved this film when I reviewed it back in August.

00:06:06.61
ukfilmreview
It's called Rock, Paper, Scissors. It's a short film um directed by Franz Baum who writes and within the credits

00:06:09.56
Brian Penn
Oh, yes.

00:06:19.87
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:06:21.06
ukfilmreview
Franz notes Ivan down as a co-writer, and that's because the film is actually based on a real-life person called Ivan. um I'm always a little bit worried about when we start talking about these sort of things.

00:06:35.65
ukfilmreview
yeah and There's lots of situations where we talk about things based on real people and and what have you, and everyone kind of starts to get a little bit worried, like, can we say that? Is that okay?

00:06:43.98
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know, yeah.

00:06:44.63
ukfilmreview
um So, yeah, but um rock, paper, scissors, um and it stars Alexander Rudiniski, Sergei Kalante.

00:06:56.41
ukfilmreview
um

00:06:56.77
Brian Penn
One side, yeah.

00:06:57.91
ukfilmreview
canlante and yeah it's It's a fairly new short film and it circles around this character Ivan, played by Rudiniski.

00:07:09.15
ukfilmreview
who along with his father they've got this makeshift hospital set up and it's ah ongoing during the actual current situation with Russia and Ukraine. um The actual events I believe took place maybe a few years ago or a year ago at least so a little while back um but yeah Ivan is um helping at this hospital where they're taking care of people and and trying to sort of you get into safety but it looks as if yeah the the Russians, because they're on the Ukrainian side, the Russians are approaching and they're yeah obviously absolutely terrified um because the Russians have been spotted and Ivan goes ends up being out there hoping to hold them off but unfortunately faces sort of a much larger force than he thought he was going to come across

00:07:56.45
Brian Penn
Hmm. Yeah.

00:08:04.86
Brian Penn
yeah

00:08:07.16
ukfilmreview
Now, I have reviewed this already, so I am very keen to hear what Brian thought of rock, paper, scissors. A lot of umming, which makes me think he's ready to go.

00:08:15.01
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. No, no, no, no. I think it's very powerful, but it conveys a simple message about war and the cost of war. And what it does to ordinary people, you know, what gives it an added edge is of course, it's dealing with the current conflicts between Ukraine and and Russia. Now, the fact that it's based on facts. Now you can, you can infer many things from that statement. Can't you based on facts based on a true story where it could be very loose or it could be sticking to the facts almost exactly. But what the central character did those, you know, you can't,

00:08:52.76
Brian Penn
fails to be impressed by his bravery in doing what he did, is to take a firearm out into what appears to be no man's land for want of a better phrase, and attempts to take on a number of Russian soldiers. And it it does what it does in a very short space of time, but it just gets a very simple message across that ordinary people suffer in terms of war. Ivan and his father, who was running the hospital,

00:09:21.75
Brian Penn
were simply trying to survive and trying to make sure their patients survived as well. So it it kind of traces that train of thought from how do we get out of the situation alive? And how do we take all these ill and sick people with us? And you buy into those currencies. And again, because it's a current and ongoing conflict, it feels even more real than it normally would be. But I found it very enjoyable quite stark, quite raw in the way it was shot but I think it achieves the desired effects that it hits home and that this is what is happening, this is what's happening to real people at the moment as we speak and I think that that's quite frightening but quite sobering as well at the same time but I thought it was very good, it was very well put together.

00:10:15.91
ukfilmreview
Yeah, I agree with you, ill with with all your points. and I think that starkness was something that really stood out to me. and There was a scene where ivan Ivan's and his his gun is like against the rocks and the rocks are all kind of like a sort of dark grey but he's got this sort of like almost orangey gun I think or you know it sort of looks very it's very bright against the and rock facing roost stood out.

00:10:37.96
Brian Penn
e

00:10:42.50
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:10:47.59
ukfilmreview
Now, whether that was intentional or not, it just was a, just a small moment, kind of Schindler's List-esque, you know, with like the red coat and things like that.

00:10:47.99
Brian Penn
yeah

00:10:56.42
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

00:10:57.80
ukfilmreview
that And I think, like you're saying about this being a depiction of like how just one life can be so impacted by a conflict, which is like completely out of their control.

00:10:58.17
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:11:10.88
ukfilmreview
It's nothing, you know, they wouldn't have been involved in starting this war, you know, the decisions wouldn't be made by these

00:11:14.04
Brian Penn
no

00:11:16.39
ukfilmreview
yeah these people on this hillside, yet all of a sudden, here they are facing off with guns and having to make life and death decisions, not just for themselves, but for other people.

00:11:22.47
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:11:25.14
Brian Penn
yeah

00:11:27.51
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:11:27.56
ukfilmreview
And it's absolutely insane that that's what has to go on.

00:11:28.43
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:11:31.83
ukfilmreview
But um I'm always very in awe of filmmakers that take on ah war stories and in particular ones when they are when they are ongoing, because as we still we're still seeing

00:11:42.38
Brian Penn
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah

00:11:45.54
ukfilmreview
all these stories coming out from like World War One, World War Two, you know, you've reviewed a few on the podcast this year. There's been, you know, stories of of the amazing people from history that they get it's so easy for them to get lost.

00:11:58.49
ukfilmreview
Someone like Ivan's story is so easy to get lost. And and actually, you know, tell it now if if if the information is there and if the events have happened, if everyone's kind of, you know, happy with the way that the story is going to be told obviously there is always a danger because sometimes with perspective things change and with more information things change but as it is you know this is it's not a long film it's just a short film I think it does a very good job of telling this unique story.

00:12:15.98
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. No.

00:12:25.35
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. I think it, I think it really does. The, the issue for me when you're, you're relaying historical events, but they're kind of, it's history that's happening right now is that you, you can never view it with any true perspective. So you do take a chance when you're portraying current events, um ongoing events,

00:12:45.62
Brian Penn
But they've done it really well. They've done it really well because they've taken out the any reference to the politics of war, but it's just about people.

00:12:52.64
ukfilmreview
Mmm, yeah.

00:12:55.68
Brian Penn
And that's why it works. It's because they're just concentrating on the impacts. They're focusing on people and the effects it has on them. And then then youve you've got it. You don't have to worry about the the overall perspective because you can't possibly have one.

00:13:09.31
Brian Penn
Now, they could sell this story and send you a sign when God got willing, um the situation in Ukraine is resolved. And you can tell it with a different perspective, but you choose to do it now. You've got to get it right. And I think they have got it right here.

00:13:25.17
ukfilmreview
Absolutely, it's it's it's a very delicate situation to do this and I've seen quite a lot of films, we've reviewed many have and where they do turn the depiction.

00:13:28.40
Brian Penn
yeah

00:13:36.36
ukfilmreview
Obviously we're we're based in the UK and to use the phrase you heroes and villains, you the heroes are often going to be from our side normally, I mean it's not always but fair to say um

00:13:38.29
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:13:46.90
Brian Penn
Well, yeah, that's fair to say. Yeah. Yeah.

00:13:51.14
ukfilmreview
But you absolutely could just turn this around and it would be the same film. yeah I'm sure there's characters and on both sides that are heroes and they're just in a horrible situation, yeah just a horrible place that they just have to deal with it.

00:13:54.79
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:14:02.64
ukfilmreview
And like you say, they're not getting into the politics of this. And it's up to you, I guess, if you want to put that on there as a viewer, if you're going to look at it from with a certain glint in your eyes and and how you're going to see it.

00:14:08.40
Brian Penn
yeah

00:14:10.87
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:14:15.31
ukfilmreview
but

00:14:15.48
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:14:16.25
ukfilmreview
from a filmmaking point of view I think it's just talking about this sort of heroic character and what people can do when pushed to these kind of limits even if they are just sort of normal because one of the thing is really interesting obviously he talks about you we said that he goes out with this gun but he doesn't know how to use it he's asking this soldier that's in the hospital how to use it before he goes outside he's just like a normal guy that's just ended up in this horrible situation and I think that's that's what really caught me has been quite dramatic about it is that

00:14:23.59
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:14:30.55
Brian Penn
yeah and yeah and I Yeah.

00:14:38.22
Brian Penn
know. Yeah. Yeah.

00:14:46.25
ukfilmreview
what would happen you if you this was you or if this was someone you know that's suddenly in that horrible situation.

00:14:49.33
Brian Penn
know. Yeah. and it And it makes him a ah complete civilian as well, doesn't it?

00:14:54.98
ukfilmreview
Yeah.

00:14:55.11
Brian Penn
But he's he's not a combatant, he can't be. But they the hospital is caring for those who have been wounded in combat, but he's not a combatant himself.

00:15:05.25
Brian Penn
So that gives it even more edge. So what else I liked about it was the title of the film, Rock, Paper, Scissors. I thought that was a British thing. It obviously can't be, can it?

00:15:15.60
ukfilmreview
Yeah, ah it's a universal thing, right?

00:15:16.37
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:15:17.94
ukfilmreview
I think, and they're playing it, he's playing it with some of the kids at the hospital, right?

00:15:18.17
Brian Penn
yeah

00:15:21.11
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.

00:15:22.13
ukfilmreview
Yeah, yeah.

00:15:22.71
Brian Penn
So I like that. It's nice to see that something I thought was exclusively British is obviously a ah universal thing, rock, paper, scissors. But it's a contrast to the subject matter of the film as well.

00:15:34.17
Brian Penn
so um

00:15:35.68
ukfilmreview
Yeah, I mean, you could read a lot into that, I think, you know in terms of the way that we solve global problems. Maybe it would be better if we just resort to a rock game of rock, paper, scissors, if everyone understands it.

00:15:41.73
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

00:15:46.29
ukfilmreview
um

00:15:46.54
Brian Penn
If only we could solve solve everything that way. Yeah.

00:15:49.96
ukfilmreview
um One thing I wanted to sort of pick up, I we kind of mentioned it slightly, which is about the the setting like where you've got him outside on the hillside.

00:15:55.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:15:56.88
ukfilmreview
It does look, like you said, like a no man's land. It just looks like barren.

00:15:59.17
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:16:00.85
ukfilmreview
But then when he's inside, you know even though it's a hospital, it actually felt quite like warm and inviting.

00:16:00.96
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:16:06.54
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:16:06.89
ukfilmreview
It was almost like the safety that they've created for these people.

00:16:08.64
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:16:10.14
ukfilmreview
albeit there is a bit of a panic in the air.

00:16:12.13
Brian Penn
yeah

00:16:12.30
ukfilmreview
I just thought that was such a great ah juxtaposition to have for the audience because otherwise yeah you could have just had this film with him just kind of on the hillside, right? And it would have been, but you needed that heart.

00:16:21.54
Brian Penn
yeah

00:16:23.34
ukfilmreview
You needed that sense of peril that you really wanted him to succeed and get fast and yeah.

00:16:27.27
Brian Penn
Yeah. Well, well, you, you can see what he's protecting. You can see why, what he's risking really that, you know, he and his father are treating these people and they know they, ultimately they have to move, but they have to be safe before they move.

00:16:35.18
ukfilmreview
Hmm.

00:16:44.75
Brian Penn
And this past, you know, there there's a lot in, it's surprising how much there is in there in a fairly short film, but there's a lot to take in there really surprisingly.

00:16:53.10
ukfilmreview
I think the title is suggesting it's that idea of making a decision. He has to make a decision.

00:16:57.83
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:16:58.82
ukfilmreview
What am I going to punt for in the hope to survive?

00:17:00.00
Brian Penn
yeah yeah

00:17:03.12
ukfilmreview
And literally, he's just going to come down to luck at the end of the day. He goes out, hopes that he can overcome this threat that's oncoming. But unfortunately, they might play a better hand.

00:17:14.92
Brian Penn
yeah

00:17:14.94
ukfilmreview
And I think it's really powerful.

00:17:15.46
Brian Penn
and know

00:17:17.40
ukfilmreview
There's so much there to pick up. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

00:17:18.77
Brian Penn
yeah It's very good. Very good. No question. It's good. I think the, uh, the six films that we've got here. for this show, I think it shows the variety and diversity of independent filmmaking. And so much the better really, because I think we're ultimately looking at tomorrow's stars, potentially. This is where directors, writers and actors, the stars of tomorrow could be cutting their teeth on a short film that we're reviewing here. So you realize how important it is to to filmmaking in general.

00:17:55.34
ukfilmreview
So Rock Paper Scissors is not available currently as far as I'm aware. We were given a private screener um and it was um as part of the national film and television school so their films I might be wrong but do tend to end up on things like YouTube and and places where you can see them but as far as I'm aware right now that isn't the case but I do want a thousand percent hope that people do seek this out and do go see it or get to see it because

00:18:23.65
Brian Penn
Definitely

00:18:26.12
ukfilmreview
it for such a short film. It's so powerful. And I've seen a lot of very good short war films. And this is right up there with being one of the best that I've seen.

00:18:36.08
Brian Penn
Yeah. not Yeah.

00:18:37.92
ukfilmreview
um Yeah, Rock, Paper, Scissors, directed by Franz Baum.

00:18:38.09
Brian Penn
That's like, so definitely.

00:18:43.57
ukfilmreview
Yeah, you might want to just remember that director name because there are I think other films called Rock, Paper, Scissors. So yeah,

00:18:49.77
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:18:50.60
ukfilmreview
and or head to our website look up my review for the 9th of August and that will give you all the details and yeah just spend an hour or two on the website it just helps you know just be there for an hour look through all of the reviews read all the reviews there's about 8 000 of them so if you just read all of yeah not not many ryan's ryan's wrote many of them um but yeah rock paper scissors check it out when you can we are moving now

00:19:01.29
Brian Penn
Join us. Join us. Yes. That's that all? Yeah. Well, a few, yeah.

00:19:17.64
ukfilmreview
to another short film. This one, Jason Knight reviewed it on the website, also back in August. It's written and directed by Michael Cook, who is also in the film, but I think he's only briefly in the film.

00:19:30.36
ukfilmreview
um It's called Curiosity, and it stars Hunter Bishop and John Cook, who may or may not be related to Michael.

00:19:33.31
Brian Penn
oh

00:19:39.62
ukfilmreview
I'm guessing that he is.

00:19:40.85
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:19:41.32
ukfilmreview
Very often the case, especially short films, I think yeah you pull your family in, or

00:19:41.88
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:19:44.49
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yes, you do. We're suddenly right. I mean, it'd be rude not to, wouldn't it really?

00:19:48.72
ukfilmreview
yeah um But curiosity, Brian, do you want to take the lead on this one?

00:19:52.67
Brian Penn
Yes, of course. So we have a guy called Kevin who gets curious. When he enters the dark web, he encounters a frightening live game show where viewers bid for unusual items. When he realizes what's happening, he contacts the masked game master via text.

00:20:10.25
Brian Penn
which leads to a terrifying series of events. Now I find this an incredibly effective horror film. It really works and it is genuinely scary and it's got an original storyline.

00:20:21.08
ukfilmreview
Mm.

00:20:22.79
Brian Penn
I can never remember a storyline like this where you've got a game show wrapped within a mysterious website on the dark web that this guy sitting in his bedroom just gets curious, he's doodling online and then he he reaches something that he wish he hadn't and he starts spooling through various websites and he comes to this particular website and it's like when you're watching something and you don't want to watch it but you do and this is what happens here and it leads it leads to fairly major consequences for him I won't say any more than that but I found it really gripping and quite scary actually very very effective

00:21:07.79
ukfilmreview
I did too and I often talk to people about horror films because I think horror is one of them genres that few people feel really passionate about and we've said on the podcast that whilst we are fans of the genre we wouldn't be call ourselves sort of die hard horror fans and a lot of that a lot of the time it comes down to

00:21:13.50
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:21:17.37
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:21:22.36
Brian Penn
No, no, not so. No.

00:21:26.68
ukfilmreview
the story being told and I find sometimes a lot of filmmakers get hung up on the gimmicks they get hung up on the blood and the special effects and things whereas actually I still want a good story and with curiosity it's telling something that's modern that makes sense that it's so terrifying because when you watch some other modern horror films the stories can often be like unraveled quite quickly because of

00:21:28.79
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:21:32.39
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:21:39.84
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:21:44.02
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:21:47.50
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:21:51.03
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:21:52.00
ukfilmreview
technology or something or social media or the internet but with curiosity they're using it to its benefit they're saying actually because of technology because of this dark web because of the way that we live our lives now in our rooms and feeling that we're you know we have the safety of our house but actually we don't because if you if you're connected to an internet line if you've got a webcam if you've got something they can still probably find you through an IP address that was like the real terrifying part of this film

00:21:53.49
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:21:57.28
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:22:09.50
Brian Penn
Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Hmm. Yeah.

00:22:20.00
ukfilmreview
um And it made sense. And also there's that it's tapping into that part of the human condition. I think they sort of mentioned it. And that's what the title is playing on, which is that yeah curiosity killed the cat.

00:22:32.01
ukfilmreview
That is something that does terrify us on a very deep level, which is like, yes, whilst we are often wanting to know more, it can lead to our downfall. And I think that was a great, i that great theme to play on.

00:22:43.55
ukfilmreview
They did it really well, I thought.

00:22:43.91
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah, absolutely. I think, look, too much knowledge can be a dangerous thing, can't it, sometimes? I mean, we would say that generally knowledge is power, and that's what social media, that's what online resources allow us to do, is to become um more knowledgeable. But then it gives us a view into something deeply unsavory and very unpleasant. And I think it highlights what the downside of social media can be, is that it shows us too much of life, or it can show us too much of the dark side of life.

00:23:14.89
Brian Penn
This is going through an extreme. But then again, you make a point by going through an extreme. youan You exaggerate, but you make a point and in the same way. And that's what this film does very well, is that be careful what you might find. you know but This is what could be out there. And in some ways, it it shows you how vulnerable can people people can be if they live too much of their lives through through the through social media, through the internet, through the web.

00:23:43.64
Brian Penn
and Again, it's as you say, it's very convincing. It works well. And something that its it's it's building on something that's part of our lives now. Social media is part of our lives. We do live our lives through laptops and mobiles and computers. And as I say, very effective. It works so well. you know And I think they deserve a lot of credit for that. And I think horror fans will be genuinely impressed with it as well.

00:24:13.43
ukfilmreview
Yeah, its for me it felt like something that could have, first off, be expanded to a feature length.

00:24:19.40
Brian Penn
Yeah, of course.

00:24:19.85
ukfilmreview
Definitely. would i' I wanted to watch War actually.

00:24:20.35
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:22.26
ukfilmreview
I felt a bit kind of upset the way it finished. I was like, oh, okay. I feel like they could carry on.

00:24:26.56
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:27.05
ukfilmreview
um So definitely with a feature, if not you know a series or actually a franchise, you yeah these things do often happen.

00:24:31.77
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:34.10
ukfilmreview
There probably are

00:24:34.19
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah.

00:24:35.86
ukfilmreview
films out there because horror is a massive genre there that are played on very similar themes.

00:24:37.65
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:39.42
ukfilmreview
I think in his review Jason talked about untraceable and hostile and things like that.

00:24:43.18
Brian Penn
yeah

00:24:43.53
ukfilmreview
um And this whole, I think on Rachel's podcast, i she's reviewed a lot of films where they call it torture porn or whatever they call it.

00:24:49.00
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:24:51.46
Brian Penn
Well, yeah.

00:24:51.56
ukfilmreview
um And I don't think this is necessarily that it's not trying to be gratuitous. There's not bits in there where you're going to go, oh, it's like blood curling that sort of moments.

00:25:00.19
Brian Penn
No, I don't think so. none No, that's all.

00:25:01.63
ukfilmreview
I think it's more cerebral than that. It's more kind of catching you on that sense of you feeling safe in your home, but actually, you if you stumbled on the wrong website, you could find yourself in a very sticky situation.

00:25:07.84
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:25:13.46
Brian Penn
Good, good horror, in my opinion. I mean, obviously, ah Rachel on the screen says she's She's the real aficionado of horror. She knows the stuff a lot better than I do. I mean, like yourself, I'm a mainstream film fan, but um I think the key to good horror really is to leave some of it in your head and not necessarily to put it on screen. And that's something, that's the key to good horror is not to be too explicit and too obvious, right? Leave it in someone's head, then it then it works even better.

00:25:47.46
Brian Penn
because you're playing on someone's imagination and that's what horror is always a sense to do is to play on your imagination and to let your imagination go to that place but not necessarily show it to you, just give you that suggestion and then yeah your own imagination will take you there and that to me is a key element of any any good horror story.

00:26:08.92
ukfilmreview
I really wanted to do a shout out as well to the to the actors. I think Hunter Bishop is great as the yeah Kevin character.

00:26:16.58
Brian Penn
yeah

00:26:16.89
ukfilmreview
yeah I did wonder, is that like a play on the sort of Home Alone Kevin character at home?

00:26:21.33
Brian Penn
It could be, yeah, it could be, I mean, yeah.

00:26:21.97
ukfilmreview
you know um ah Maybe I'm reading a bit much into that.

00:26:25.38
Brian Penn
Well, yeah.

00:26:26.61
ukfilmreview
But I thought he was great. I thought he he really handled that because at first you see him kind of easily it's like bored, but almost sort of like entitled character and he starts to become like a bit of a keyboard warrior thinking oh i can just say what i want then all of a sudden it twists and you realize hold on there's going to be consequences from this and he deals with that shift really well um but i think it's john cook that did for me i was like when he was he's the uh the masked uh presenter of this show it was like oh my god he just can't

00:26:35.96
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:26:40.41
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:26:43.99
Brian Penn
Yeah. and Yeah.

00:26:47.51
Brian Penn
yeah

00:26:53.22
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah

00:26:57.32
ukfilmreview
he's terrifying he's like a boogeyman i felt like i felt absolutely and i felt unnerved and disturbed by his his performance so good

00:27:03.51
Brian Penn
And I know it's it's the mask and the voice, isn't it? You know, that's what it what it disted out distills down to that character. so It's the mask and the voice and they work perfectly together. And it does give you give you the shivers. And that's always the test, you know, for any good horror, horror flick.

00:27:23.01
Brian Penn
So yeah, you know, for Marx, they they've done the job well. And you know, when you so when you mentioned home alone, I won't be surprised if they had certain reference points in the back of their minds, which is often the case because you watch any film, you can see influences dipping in and out of any film. And I don't think short features are any different there. So if you if you see if you look closely enough, you can see that is that they they take their influences from many sources.

00:27:53.00
Brian Penn
and It's like just a question of something sticking in their minds, isn't it?

00:27:57.23
ukfilmreview
Absolutely.

00:28:00.19
ukfilmreview
It's not available live, curiosity, but we do have a clip. um It's quite a short clip. It's from the trailer, I believe. So I'm gonna play it just so you can get a little bit of taste and you do get to hear that fabulous ah voice that we're talking about.

00:28:08.08
Brian Penn
Oh.

00:28:12.11
Brian Penn
Oh, yeah.

00:28:12.52
ukfilmreview
So I'm gonna go play that now.

00:28:37.49
ukfilmreview
I appreciate it was a very short clip, but it was worth it to get a very small bit right at the end where you hear his voice.

00:28:41.60
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.

00:28:43.41
ukfilmreview
So if you're listening on the podcast, you can always just rewind and hear it again, because it's it's really good.

00:28:47.56
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know. yeah

00:28:49.92
ukfilmreview
And then we'll just check as well. Yeah, no, I didn't see one on it. But yeah, the film isn't isn't out yet. um Again, I really want people to see it. So ah keeping an eye out for it, Curiosity, written and directed by Michael Cook.

00:29:02.66
ukfilmreview
and So yeah, fabulous job, guys. Brilliant.

00:29:05.73
Brian Penn
Mm. Very good.

00:29:07.22
ukfilmreview
It's just so strong. The show is going so strong. There's so many good films.

00:29:10.07
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:29:10.78
ukfilmreview
and We're just moving on to another really amazing film.

00:29:11.29
Brian Penn
Well, no.

00:29:16.03
ukfilmreview
Again, one I reviewed on the site back in August, again, A Good Day Will Come. This is written and directed by Aamir Zarkara.

00:29:21.72
Brian Penn
Oh,

00:29:24.82
ukfilmreview
And yes, this actually, again, ah it's a lot similar to the films, based on a real life wrestler, this one, Nabil Afkari.

00:29:36.84
ukfilmreview
It's a short film um where the world of wrestling and the political unrest in Iran ah in 2018 collide um because we have a character called Arash, played by Sia Alipour, based on the Navid Afkari wrestler.

00:29:58.77
ukfilmreview
But we're kind of putting it into a, not unlike with Ivan, I think Ivan was yeah more kind of direct, this is about him.

00:30:02.45
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:30:05.07
ukfilmreview
This where they are actually changed the character's name, but it's very much based on that narrative wrestler.

00:30:08.02
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah.

00:30:11.88
ukfilmreview
But yeah, he's promising Iranian wrestler, but he starts to struggle in his career because he is getting very disturbed by the protests and the unrest going on around them.

00:30:24.44
ukfilmreview
He's been told by his coaches, you know, don't worry about what's going on outside, just focus on your wrestling. but it comes to a head when I think it's his sister dies during one of the protest marches against the government and he can no longer stay silent he wears a t-shirt

00:30:34.25
Brian Penn
and

00:30:41.75
Brian Penn
Hmm. Hmm.

00:30:44.97
ukfilmreview
you know, the sisters, her life years on at the end end of his ah match. And yeah, from there, he gets pulled into the the story of the the politics going on.

00:30:57.59
ukfilmreview
He's seen as a very high profile voice against the government.

00:30:58.37
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:31:02.13
ukfilmreview
um

00:31:02.43
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:31:03.39
ukfilmreview
The film then moves into an area where he starts to be part of the protests. And from there, things get very tricky for him as he tries to sort of balance the idea of a peaceful protest, but also standing up for his people.

00:31:17.52
ukfilmreview
But he yeah tries to do that as best he can. And the film itself is incredibly gripping and dramatic.

00:31:23.94
Brian Penn
aye Yeah, it was excellent.

00:31:24.71
ukfilmreview
Brian, what did you think of a good date will come?

00:31:28.75
Brian Penn
and Really gripping is the word that this springs to mind. And I think it asks a lot of important questions about the almost strictly linked between sport and politics, you know, that once an athlete receives international recognition, when they stand under the flag of their country and wear their country's colors, who are they really representing? Are they representing the people or are they representing the state and the government? And I say it raises all kinds of important questions that fire off that really. And it sums it up so well in this film, you know, that here he is,

00:32:05.89
Brian Penn
you know, wrestling is, is, is the number one sport in Iran. So obviously anyone who who becomes a champion wrestler in Iran, it's going to be a bit like a rock star, aren't they? And their opinions will always carry weight because of who they are and what they've achieved. But for me, it's about the idea that we should be able to separate the two. But he, he was put in a position where he felt he had to make a stand over some, he had to say something, particularly when his sister was involved. And I think it portrays that conflicts between just wanting to be a sportsman or sports person, shall we say, but also be a social compensator, being in a position where he has a profile and people want him to support them. They want him to to pick, for want of a better phrase, pick a side, but he wants, he's struggling to keep out of it. So there's a conflict there as well. I think it was so well portrayed here.

00:33:04.68
Brian Penn
And it's an age old argument. This is nothing new. This is, this has always been, um, uh, an upfront and current dilemma for anyone who, who makes their way in sport, right. But they can't ever compete for the country and let it be. There's got to be something more to it than that. You know, and so I think it brings the whole issue into, into sharp focus. And I really, really enjoyed it. I think it was really powerful and really gripping.

00:33:33.73
Brian Penn
And as I say, sheds the light on this, this idea that sport and politics are never going to coexist that they're always going to overlap. So very, very impressed with it.

00:33:45.75
ukfilmreview
Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? Because we we, in the UK, we see a lot, especially with footballers. If there's a global event, World Cup, or anything like that, then something happens.

00:33:57.20
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:33:57.58
ukfilmreview
If the footballers are often, they're being asked, yeah they're asked their opinion, they're asked what's going on, and then

00:34:02.74
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:34:03.10
ukfilmreview
they inevitably give their opinion whether they were asked or not and then there's this backlash you know you hear all these people kind of go you know stick to football and it's like well no you know these people are they represent the country just as much as you know politicians represent the country all right yeah they're not making decisions but they still have a voice and they also they have influence you know and what i'm very proud of often is that our sports people tend to be very good people they tend to be very conscientious warm people because

00:34:06.18
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. and i Yeah.

00:34:17.11
Brian Penn
yeah

00:34:20.17
Brian Penn
and

00:34:26.13
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:34:30.83
ukfilmreview
you know they're passionate they're dedicated but they're also they're professionals and and they are and they yeah they they are entitled to that opinion to say and what and like um with uh the other character in this in this film

00:34:34.27
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:34:38.73
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:34:44.44
ukfilmreview
it becomes the point where he sort of is being warned off by everyone saying that you need to not get involved because of who because of who you are where it's actually it's exactly that is why he feels he should get involved because he feels that if if if he doesn't then when will a good day come you know when will that happen because it's if they don't do anything that that's the problem

00:34:54.03
Brian Penn
Yeah, I know.

00:35:05.00
ukfilmreview
So I love that it's dealing with some really, really big heavy themes with this.

00:35:05.05
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:35:09.29
Brian Penn
Yeah, it is.

00:35:09.92
ukfilmreview
What I also thought, it's a 25 minute film, but my God, the spectacle in this film, the amount of locations, the amount of scenes they use, the amount of effort that's gone into so much of this movie, it felt like a thriller.

00:35:14.85
Brian Penn
I know.

00:35:23.43
ukfilmreview
It felt like a ah a political thriller that I

00:35:24.19
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:35:27.67
ukfilmreview
I mean, yes, I'd absolutely watch a feature length, but it felt like it was already one. I felt like I would have gone on such a journey. It didn't, because, you know, with say like curiosity, which we just reviewed, it's a film that is actually a few simple ingredients when you actually look at it.

00:35:33.27
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:35:42.56
ukfilmreview
It's like, oh, and they've done really well. I love filmmakers that do that. I think that's brilliant because don't, don't stretch yourself with this.

00:35:46.56
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:35:49.31
ukfilmreview
there was a danger that they could have absolutely stretched themselves way too much.

00:35:49.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:35:53.31
ukfilmreview
yeah You've got wrestling scenes, you've got protest scenes, you've got motorbikes, you've got things lots of things going on and it all actually felt very well done, brilliantly put together.

00:36:02.92
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:36:04.11
ukfilmreview
they They're so excellently executed.

00:36:07.22
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:36:08.44
ukfilmreview
Loved it.

00:36:08.89
Brian Penn
sure very high production values really for what is it be a small production because the independent filmmaking is about working with a small budget but it seems to me that they've made whatever budget they've got go significantly further you know they've given it not gloss gloss isn't the right word but they've given it a kind of a sheen like a it you know it stands in they make make it stand out because of the the variety of

00:36:35.86
ukfilmreview
Hmm.

00:36:39.03
Brian Penn
scenes they portray because usually they are hemmed in by budget limitations. It's what we always come back to. But you don't you tend not to notice it quite as much here because of the variety you've got.

00:36:51.83
ukfilmreview
Yeah, I didn't feel that they they had any budget like it issues. it wasn't Because sometimes you are watching a film going, oh, they could have easily done something more there if they just had more money.

00:37:00.62
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:37:02.30
ukfilmreview
But I don't really let that affect my opinion of the film.

00:37:02.35
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:37:05.27
ukfilmreview
It's more just as a thought, just say, OK, yeah, but with a bigger budget, you may have done, I don't know, just simple things like having extras in the scene or yeah ah more camera shots, more yeah things like that, things which aren't necessarily that essential.

00:37:07.34
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:37:13.83
Brian Penn
well yeah yeah but they had a fair number of extras though didn't they they must have got yeah a fair yeah yeah this this is what i was getting at so it makes i suppose they're making it look like it had more of a budget and that's quite clever in itself isn't it you know because realistically you know you know they've got

00:37:18.72
ukfilmreview
It's just you can allow the story to have a bit more to it.

00:37:25.58
ukfilmreview
In this they did. Yeah, in this I thought it wasn't even a problem. I thought it was just a massive budget.

00:37:41.62
Brian Penn
very strict parameters to work within. That's what independent filmmaking is about. But they made it look more more expensive than it really was. you know And that doesn't mean to say that films that have a tiny budget and work on a shoestring aren't as effective.

00:37:55.66
Brian Penn
They are. But it's just that what you see in something become stands out more. And I guess that's what you're always trying to do, is to make it stand out.

00:38:06.77
ukfilmreview
Absolutely.

00:38:07.59
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:38:09.59
ukfilmreview
Would you have a little clip from the film?

00:38:11.24
Brian Penn
Oh, lovely.

00:38:11.89
ukfilmreview
It's not in the English language, so it's to give you a good idea of the tone, I think, of this film.

00:38:11.97
Brian Penn
like

00:38:16.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:38:17.83
ukfilmreview
But I'm going to play this. I know it's just a clip from A Good Day Will Come.

00:38:52.70
ukfilmreview
It's always good to get a taste of a film. And just listening to that brought me right back into the film. It was like I was watching it again.

00:38:58.72
Brian Penn
yeah Yeah, definitely.

00:39:00.11
ukfilmreview
I was like, wow. And yeah, I really loved it.

00:39:03.85
Brian Penn
you Yeah, even though that that clip wasn't in it in English, obviously, it's not a sort of subtitle, but you get a certain amount of the atmosphere that's being portrayed. So you don't, you don't necessarily need needs to be listening to English dialogue.

00:39:18.05
Brian Penn
Do you really feel that you feel the tension coming through there? I reckon.

00:39:23.44
ukfilmreview
Absolutely. um The film had actually provided me the actual clip. they I think they provided me the clip with the video and I said obviously we're going to use the audio. I'm just checking to see if it's online because I have a feeling. So you can watch the trailer.

00:39:42.82
ukfilmreview
on, so that the director has a website, so Ms. Zagara has a website, so it's zagara.com, that's Z-A-R-G-A-R-A dot com, and on the You Better to Find a page dedicated to a good day will come.

00:39:57.24
ukfilmreview
and on there is the trailer but not the film so I don't think it's out currently even though yeah we had a link but I don't think it's publicly accessible so I'm not going to definitely not going to share that link because I'm getting a lot

00:40:06.96
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:40:12.97
Brian Penn
no yeah Yeah, that's not.

00:40:14.67
ukfilmreview
um Yeah, but if you can find it, if you can see it, you should be lining all these up, listeners.

00:40:19.15
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:40:22.59
ukfilmreview
yeah If you've got yeah pen and paper, which is what we which is what we used in the old days, if you're wondering what that is, it was a pen and paper, pen and paper.

00:40:23.56
Brian Penn
Yeah. Make a list.

00:40:28.92
Brian Penn
ay Yeah, pen and paper. I remember it well.

00:40:32.64
ukfilmreview
I mean, in fairness, we are doing a podcast, so we're not exactly against the system here.

00:40:36.74
Brian Penn
No, not at all.

00:40:37.19
ukfilmreview
um But yeah, a good day will come.

00:40:37.70
Brian Penn
ah

00:40:40.37
ukfilmreview
amir's sagara it's absolutely brilliant i put it in the bottommer review I think I said, yeah, one of the best short films of the year.

00:40:47.51
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:40:48.02
ukfilmreview
ah Hands down, I often do my own little lists of the best shorts that I've seen of of the year.

00:40:53.30
Brian Penn
Yeah, absolutely.

00:40:53.80
ukfilmreview
This will make it into it, um definitely.

00:40:56.36
Brian Penn
Yeah, definitely. I agree with that.

00:40:58.98
ukfilmreview
So, moving on now to a short film that I didn't review for the website, but James Leroy did, and he gave it five stars on the website.

00:41:09.36
Brian Penn
Wow.

00:41:10.25
ukfilmreview
ah Sorry, it's not a short film. This is a feature length, this is called perennial light and it's really directed by Colin Hickey.

00:41:15.92
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:41:19.56
ukfilmreview
and It stars Jack O'Mahoney. I think Colin Hickey's in the film yet and Clara Rose Hickey is also in there.

00:41:24.32
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:41:28.23
ukfilmreview
Do you want to take this one Brian?

00:41:29.97
Brian Penn
Yeah, cool. So we have an Irish film without dialogue or conventional narrative shot in black and white. It tells the story of the man's life. from his upbringing in the countryside to his troubled adolescence and adulthood.

00:41:44.46
Brian Penn
It's all interspersed with some great illustrations. I love the roughness of them. It feels like they've been done with pen and paper. It just gives it an incredible edge. Another independent Irish film, they've done it again.

00:41:55.25
Brian Penn
The Irish are so consistent with their independent filmmaking. The number of films, Chris, that we've reviewed from Ireland, haven't we? Short films, but they're outstanding.

00:42:04.49
ukfilmreview
Oh, yeah

00:42:07.08
Brian Penn
They're absolutely brilliant. What I love about this film is the confidence that Colin Hickey shows that he's brave enough to shoot a feature film with no dialogue. You know, the sound effects, you can hear birds singing, but there's no spoken dialogue. There's no conventional narratives to so latch on to. Now a film like this would usually make you work very hard to follow what's going on, but you don't have to do that. You can actually sit back and just drinking the visuals. And there's a lot of symbolism there as well, you know, as if every single image is one stage in this man's life. And we have great images of particularly of the ship listing its sea and it's beginning to kind of topple over on one side. To me, that's very symptomatic ah of his feelings. And that's what this film does. Every single frame is so beautifully captured.

00:43:06.17
Brian Penn
the amount of thought that's gone into it. I mean, it's really a work of art. I think it's beautifully done. And I'm very, very impressed with it. It's it's so difficult to pull off into a chief because we we tend to assume that dialogue is going to do the hard work for us.

00:43:24.39
Brian Penn
Dialogue tells us what's going on, doesn't it?

00:43:26.11
ukfilmreview
Hmm. Hmm.

00:43:27.40
Brian Penn
But we don't have that with this film. But there's enough going on there for you to follow it. It's a lovely film. It's a lovely, lovely film.

00:43:36.41
ukfilmreview
I always come across films like this every so often through UK Film Review. And it's kind of like when you go to a film festival that there's just something you would not have, if I'm honest, it's not a film you would necessarily have chosen to go see.

00:43:43.97
Brian Penn
Hmm Yeah Yeah Hmm Yeah Yeah

00:43:50.11
ukfilmreview
If someone says, you know, it's like an artistic piece, you know, it's a feature length and there's no dialogue, there's not really ah a full narrative, there's a ah suggestion, a narrative of the guy's kind of life, you know, it's almost like looking back on the life and like memories and things but it's bit's more it's more of a contemplative piece it's more something for you to sort of immerse yourself in and almost have an experience in a cinematic way but when you watch something like this and you really do get a lot out of it it's so fulfilling it's like wow i feel really honored to have seen that film um i think

00:44:15.47
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:44:27.28
ukfilmreview
Just yeah, just to sort of go over a couple of bits that you sort of mentioned Yeah, the the mixture of the live action with the animation I thought that was brilliantly done some of the parts of that is absolutely beautiful and what I loved about it was it almost provided like emotional context for what was going on that it was like like when you look back on something in your life or you look at a certain chapter even if it's going on right now you have the actual sort of

00:44:27.82
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:44:39.88
Brian Penn
yeah

00:44:45.19
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:44:53.08
ukfilmreview
the visual, how you would see that memory, but then you have your own emotional attachment to that memory, whether that's that you loved it, hated it, you know, whatever. I thought that the two coexisting within this one film was really beautiful.

00:45:06.67
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:45:07.71
ukfilmreview
I loved that. um I think there's a lot of ways you could read this film, but that's just how I kind of read it.

00:45:12.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:45:14.31
ukfilmreview
I think the music changes enough as well to keep it from being too stagnant and like you said there the bird song I think it was a bit where it sort of said boom and the classical or like there's a guitar that kicks in and it really like lifted it up and ah yeah I think

00:45:20.04
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. yeah

00:45:31.39
ukfilmreview
Those aspects to it, that you're using that the language of cinema, but without the the need for words to sort of connect with people, I think it's great.

00:45:37.49
Brian Penn
yeah Hmm.

00:45:42.54
ukfilmreview
It's kind of, it's a bit like classical music, right? It's like kind of going, do you know what, actually, this is just really, really good. If you can appreciate if you can appreciate it, don't get me wrong, there are all going to be people that aren't going to enjoy this film.

00:45:48.40
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

00:45:53.85
ukfilmreview
Perennial Light is not a mainstream film by any means.

00:45:54.04
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:45:56.60
Brian Penn
No, I mean, yeah.

00:45:56.92
ukfilmreview
um But for fans of art, film, yeah cinema, I think it's great.

00:46:02.16
Brian Penn
Yeah, I agree. I think it is going to attract a certain type of film fan. You know, that I'd be very interested to see how the market for like this if it went on the actual release, because it is basically a silent film. And it's difficult for not to think of it as a novelty and it's not a novelty it's just another way of portraying a life a life that's been lived and seems from a life but but it's not it does away with with but words but the compensating factors are there but that makes it more of a it makes it more special more of a specialist film one for people that appreciate that kind of film it' ah it's it's more of an art film but it works better

00:46:46.94
Brian Penn
when you see it online, when you see it on a small screen than it was on a big screen. You know, as you say, it's not gonna work for everyone, but I was i was very, you know, it's a word I keep on using about what the films are reviewing tonight. Very impressed, really was.

00:47:03.51
ukfilmreview
It's also, it's ah ambitious to do what we're doing, but there's also some really cool bits that which are just genuinely impressive.

00:47:07.42
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:47:11.22
ukfilmreview
like There was a bit where a drone follows this guy like skateboarding through the town.

00:47:11.70
Brian Penn
Mm.

00:47:16.74
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:47:16.85
ukfilmreview
I was like um was just a brilliantly shot piece of cinema.

00:47:19.11
Brian Penn
and I know.

00:47:20.37
ukfilmreview
It really stood out to me.

00:47:20.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:47:21.50
ukfilmreview
I remember thinking, that was really good.

00:47:23.07
Brian Penn
and I know.

00:47:23.12
ukfilmreview
And and what I also really liked was a person an older person, it's someone maybe a little bit more and who's lived life, shall we say, that you do have these these times where you start thinking back on your life, thinking back on your memories.

00:47:32.57
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:47:41.02
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:47:41.09
ukfilmreview
And what I thought was great was there was these snapshots of locations, so like the train station or the harbor, or like just like an innocuous pair of but bad some set of steps.

00:47:41.70
Brian Penn
Yeah. Hmm.

00:47:48.40
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:47:53.52
ukfilmreview
And I think that

00:47:53.57
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:47:55.27
ukfilmreview
is really powerful because often we are sort of intrinsically linked to ourselves in those times that we would think back to them and go oh yes and that's what comes into our brain and immediately a ton of memories sort of can flood in if you've been to that location a lot of times and if you can kind of submit yourself to that power that a film like this can reach you in in a lot of ways and it can transport you and that I think is

00:48:00.35
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:48:04.40
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

00:48:18.48
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:48:19.16
ukfilmreview
it's it's a very powerful phrase to use but that I would use it with a film like perennial light because it's so artfully done and also it doesn't try and give in to the need to push itself and go oh actually do you know what people are going to get bored so let's do you know let's throw something in it's like no no actually

00:48:23.91
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:48:27.33
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:48:33.83
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:48:41.42
ukfilmreview
We set our stall out.

00:48:42.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:48:43.65
ukfilmreview
This is our movie. And I love the way they tell that with such confidence. I think it was brilliantly done.

00:48:48.13
Brian Penn
Yeah. I think, yeah, I think you're right. is' It is, they are snapshots. There are memories, images that we can all draw on if we think back to our earlier life. And again, they've used Ireland, the countryside, scenery natural scenery they have around them. They've used it so well, but it's a focus on everyday objects as well. You know, if you think back to when you're very young, you know, certain objects are certain, like like a staircase,

00:49:17.34
Brian Penn
can take on more significance when you think about it more and it's very well observed and yeah I think you have to be tuned into it you have to be in a certain frame of mind to watch it and appreciate it but damn it's good it's it's clever it it's confident it's bold to sort of say right we're not going to bother with with any sort of scripts so you know all credit to him you know that it's a hell of a job

00:49:47.06
ukfilmreview
When we say him, we mean Colin Hickey. but yeah Colin Hickey, yeah.

00:49:49.38
Brian Penn
I mean, yeah, we've been calling hecky. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah.

00:49:51.96
ukfilmreview
um Not available as far as I'm aware. um I say that because I'm often not aware of a lot of things, listeners.

00:50:00.83
Brian Penn
No, really. I thought you knew everything for us.

00:50:02.82
ukfilmreview
My ignorance stretches really wide, so it may well be a lot available online. It does have a trailer, so if you head to our website and look up the Review of Perennial Light, you'll be able to see the trailer.

00:50:15.58
ukfilmreview
um And that's worth with doing. And you can read James's review as well. He absolutely loved it. So yeah, echoing um what he said in our review on this podcast.

00:50:25.77
Brian Penn
Yeah, definitely.

00:50:27.08
ukfilmreview
But yeah, check it out if you can. We are going to a, this is a short film. It's a short film. It's very short. It's four minutes long as well.

00:50:34.86
Brian Penn
Oh, it's that one. Yeah. It's that one.

00:50:37.20
ukfilmreview
um ah called Embrace Disruption, um directed by Johan Shannon, Canadian film. And this was submitted to us via FilmFreeway.

00:50:49.00
ukfilmreview
So if you're a filmmaker that uses FilmFreeway, you can submit your films to us via there.

00:50:50.51
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:50:53.24
ukfilmreview
we This is how we get them onto some of them onto the podcast. i'm But yeah, this film Embrace Disruption, again, artistic piece, much like the the previous film, um but definitely being a lot more subversive, I think, with the form and being more like a almost more like an art installation, you more something that you might go and see in an actual, ah what would you call it, an art studio, something like that um installation.

00:51:16.30
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:51:20.85
Brian Penn
When installation kind of thing.

00:51:23.50
ukfilmreview
Yeah.

00:51:23.64
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:51:24.72
ukfilmreview
um It the The setup of the film has three screens within a screen. and there's ah There's an image at the top left, and then there's two others that are actually sort changing, but they're all kind of connected. There's some lightening that connects them.

00:51:40.37
ukfilmreview
and it's This one, I feel, is massively open to interpretation in this film. um my My take on it, which having read the the director's statement and and the actual yeah the overview and things like that from the filmmaker, is that it's a piece about nature and about o yeah yeah our relationship with nature.

00:51:46.55
Brian Penn
yeah oh yes um off the off the cuff right okay off the cuff um i mean i was look it's a very engaging piece you know it

00:52:02.78
ukfilmreview
What did you take from it, Brian? Just off the cuff.

00:52:16.80
Brian Penn
It's modern art. I mean, as we just said, you you would almost expect to see it in an art gallery or an installation of some kind. But those three images are constantly sort of competing and conflicting with each other, because you've got a heart-shaped figure in one box with limbs, and you've got what appears to be a star-shaped figure with limbs in the other box. And they're both very active. And there's things going on in the background. But in the box,

00:52:46.41
Brian Penn
above the two of them. They're both together, but nothing much is happening. Now, to me, it's a bit like saying that um these two entities are more effective, separate than they are together. That's what I was getting from it. Now, I could be absolutely and utterly wrong about that. um But I'm not entirely certain oh what it actually means. that That's what I was getting from it. that There's all that activity when they're when they're separated, when they're alone. But there's less happening when they're together. But I'm not sure why that would be the case.

00:53:25.35
ukfilmreview
Yeah, I was quite lucky because the director actually sent me an email to say because I think they'd read the review, which which I didn't change because I think you that's their interpretation of what they saw at the time with the knowledge that they had.

00:53:31.20
Brian Penn
ah

00:53:33.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:53:41.34
ukfilmreview
And I think that's their review.

00:53:41.54
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:53:42.93
ukfilmreview
That's fine because as audience members,

00:53:43.85
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:53:46.80
ukfilmreview
It's not always our job to go and research everything about a film before we watch it. And I think your opinion of a film, based on what you took with you when you went to see it, it is the review.

00:53:55.99
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:53:57.72
ukfilmreview
But if it if it gets shaped later on, that's absolutely fine.

00:53:57.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:54:00.87
ukfilmreview
and But the yeah the star shape that you refer to is actually a vulva.

00:54:01.29
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:54:05.39
Brian Penn
Oh, I did.

00:54:05.46
ukfilmreview
um

00:54:06.34
Brian Penn
I did wonder.

00:54:07.55
ukfilmreview
Yeah, it looked a little bit, didn't it?

00:54:08.18
Brian Penn
I didn't. Yeah.

00:54:09.67
ukfilmreview
A little bit i thought like an organ.

00:54:10.50
Brian Penn
Yeah. Right.

00:54:12.27
ukfilmreview
And and that as I knew that going into the film, I was obviously a bit more yeah yeah shaped by that.

00:54:12.72
Brian Penn
Okay. Yeah.

00:54:19.68
ukfilmreview
And I was kind of like, okay, so it's like a soft heart and it's a vulva.

00:54:22.61
Brian Penn
Uh, right.

00:54:23.77
ukfilmreview
And that, for me,

00:54:24.05
Brian Penn
Okay.

00:54:27.06
ukfilmreview
made me kind of then I think it's worth actually before we go just read out the and overview just from the the director which says so this is the on film for you and they have an overview which is like this is like the synopsis of the film.

00:54:28.55
Brian Penn
Yeah. yeah Yeah.

00:54:41.23
ukfilmreview
um facing an uncontrollable disorder two postures clash and challenge each other feeling uncomfortable showing indifference collapsing feeling mockery gnawing internally disintegrating experiencing invigorating sensuality question mark so

00:54:58.18
Brian Penn
Right. Okay.

00:54:59.31
ukfilmreview
Right now as we've said this is like an art piece this is saying it's challenging you it's not saying that here's your narrative here's what's happened beginning middle of the land and we all know who the hero was it's saying you know you're gonna watch this and you're gonna feel different things much the way that Brian you know had his that's your version of the film that you saw and what you thought was there and I think when you watch or take part and see art

00:55:02.69
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:55:07.61
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:55:18.05
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:55:25.72
ukfilmreview
it is as much about you as it is about the piece that you're seeing often.

00:55:28.83
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:55:30.08
ukfilmreview
um That being said, with a film like this, I watched it, I think I watched it three times because I still feel like yeah the director is is challenging me, is pushing me and saying, look, do you know what, actually there's other things here.

00:55:34.00
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:55:45.92
ukfilmreview
um it's It's got a lot of interesting themes. I like the idea that there's a few bits where the nature kind of comes in, like there's water that's falling, there's some ashes that sort of come across, there's some trees that are kind of like in ah like red and white, and it is giving that feeling of like something disturbing going on, it doesn't feel quite natural, and yet we're seeing natural elements being given to us.

00:55:52.08
Brian Penn
yeah

00:56:02.68
Brian Penn
e

00:56:11.02
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:56:11.51
ukfilmreview
And these two characters almost competing, um but in a kind of, ballet sort of way or sort of ballet.

00:56:18.42
Brian Penn
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can say that.

00:56:19.09
ukfilmreview
It kind of felt that they, yeah, there was like a it was like a movement piece, right?

00:56:20.97
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:56:23.30
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:56:23.38
ukfilmreview
And I think, you know, the filmmaker in her statement, she talks about using lots of different forms of art during their career. And I think it's absolutely fine to see that within this piece that it's is's using visual elements, but also physical movement with the characters or with these actors that they're is a a way of set of saying, well, what is it you're going to take from this?

00:56:48.63
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:56:48.75
ukfilmreview
um And that's what I kind of took from it was that it was about the plight of the world and that it was almost like the heart and the mother nature, I guess, or something like that don't necessarily always get on.

00:57:01.61
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:57:05.01
ukfilmreview
um

00:57:05.02
Brian Penn
Right. Yeah.

00:57:07.10
ukfilmreview
the It was, yeah.

00:57:07.43
Brian Penn
yeah Okay. Yeah, that that makes sense. No, no, what what I know now. yeah um But

00:57:14.45
ukfilmreview
Yeah.

00:57:16.04
Brian Penn
that is not always the way with a piece like this, is that it is heavily interpretational.

00:57:19.88
ukfilmreview
yeah

00:57:22.62
Brian Penn
And I do wonder how much we should know about what's behind a film like this before we watch it. You know, that you may get an inkling, but it doesn't feel admittedly obvious.

00:57:35.96
Brian Penn
It's the type of thing that takes you away from the obvious and you think something different. And I always feel that this type of film is trying to do that. He's trying to keep you guessing. He's challenging you. That's absolutely fine. I've often said that, you know, I don't mind a film making me work harder for my entertainment. That is absolutely fine. But I suppose the downside with a piece like this is that a hundred people could watch it and a hundred people could come up with a hundred different explanations of what they think is happening here. Right. So, you know, they may not necessarily be on the same wavelength as a director. I mean, what they've done is very clever.

00:58:15.72
Brian Penn
And very intelligent, but it could fly over people's heads. And I don't think it's always that obvious, but.

00:58:22.11
ukfilmreview
I know a lot of filmmakers as artists, they do want that discussion.

00:58:22.79
Brian Penn
but

00:58:26.86
ukfilmreview
They do want to create, you know, ah and they don't want to just give you a but yeah ah story. So this is the story and I say it, they will do want you to kind of come at it with your own sort of element.

00:58:34.43
Brian Penn
Hmm.

00:58:37.65
ukfilmreview
um

00:58:37.96
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:58:38.89
ukfilmreview
But with this, like I said, it's so out there that it really is, it was kind of psychological watching it almost like kind of all good. It just feels like I'm going through maybe some therapy right now.

00:58:50.54
ukfilmreview
I mean, what is it that it's trying to do to me?

00:58:52.26
Brian Penn
Yeah.

00:58:52.47
ukfilmreview
um We do have a clip.

00:58:55.69
Brian Penn
You're right.

00:58:57.94
ukfilmreview
Well, I'll play the clip and and we'll talk about it in a second.

00:59:00.90
Brian Penn
Okay.

00:59:56.63
ukfilmreview
So I think it's crucial that that got played because it does give you that sense of it's a challenging watch and a challenging listen.

01:00:00.11
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:00:05.15
ukfilmreview
um Also for me one of the aspects that I i didn't like as much was the way that the sound was so disjointed that it did feel like it was lots and lots of little mini series of things going on and within that chaos, I felt, I think the feeling is like you're feeling lost.

01:00:16.33
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:21.27
ukfilmreview
You feel like you don't get it and you're watching it going, why don't I get it?

01:00:22.91
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:25.23
ukfilmreview
what What is it about this?

01:00:25.77
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:26.39
ukfilmreview
I feel like I should get it. um And I think that's okay.

01:00:28.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:30.48
ukfilmreview
It's almost like maybe maybe you don't need to get it. Maybe it's more about actually just experience it, see how you feel about it and what does it kind of bring up in you.

01:00:32.90
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:38.12
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:00:38.15
ukfilmreview
um But having said that, the filmmaker did reach out and said, look, just let you know it's evolving.

01:00:45.34
Brian Penn
yeah but Yeah.

01:00:46.11
ukfilmreview
that little piece of information actually is quite helpful.

01:00:48.48
Brian Penn
That that does that's make a lot more sense now. and But again, that that doesn't mean to say that it's not valid, that it that it's good. What they've done is good.

01:01:00.42
Brian Penn
But it for a lot of people, I think for a lot of viewers, they will need something a bit more obvious and know a bit more, um a bit easier to follow.

01:01:13.83
Brian Penn
think Because you you do you do think to yourself, you do get halfway through, you do get kind of frustrated with it because you think, I should be getting this, but I'm not, and i' no, I'm not getting it.

01:01:14.04
ukfilmreview
yeah

01:01:25.14
Brian Penn
And I should be and why aren't I getting it? What am I missing? And you feel like you're missing the subtleties of the piece, but you know, that it that is probably one of its functions though, is to film anything in this way, is is to make you ponder and make you think more.

01:01:44.00
ukfilmreview
Absolutely.

01:01:44.85
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:01:45.59
ukfilmreview
Embrace Disruption was submitted on Film Free, which normally means it's not out ah to watch.

01:01:54.49
ukfilmreview
There is a website, well, the filmmaker has a website, yohanchanon.kabek.

01:02:01.66
ukfilmreview
If you search Embrace Disruption, you'll likely find it if you can't. If not, drop us a line and we'll direct you as best we can. um because we know there's lots of fans of art films out there and and art videos things like that yeah it's definitely falls in that category much like and perennial light and perennial light has more i think of a um a wider appeal but with this i think people may feel strongly about it yeah than that and that's okay that's a good thing so um and at four minutes i mean you can watch it a few times yeah there's no harm in that

01:02:15.56
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:02:20.85
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. I know. ah But the important thing though, Chris, it provokes a reaction. You know, that's what what it aims to do is to make people think, you know, and That's a good thing. That's what film is all about, is to provoke a ah reactionist, is to make me make us think, challenge us, make us wonder. So it's done its job in that way.

01:02:54.23
ukfilmreview
Fantastic. Moving to our final film of this episode, this special episode of UK Film Club, um another film free rate submission to us.

01:03:04.32
ukfilmreview
This was sent to us by Ed Hartman, and it's a film called The Scalpel, and it has a very unusual history.

01:03:14.49
ukfilmreview
Did you know the history of this film, Brian?

01:03:16.16
Brian Penn
No, I can honestly say that I didn't. No, no, it's that was it was new to me.

01:03:18.53
ukfilmreview
No. um Yeah, I didn't know until yeah I went into all the details on the the review and within Film Freeway. So yeah, it's ah it's a film from 1936.

01:03:32.35
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:03:32.77
ukfilmreview
And that by surprise some listeners. Don't worry, we haven't traveled in time. It's still 2024.

01:03:37.20
Brian Penn
Yeah, no, we're not going back in the time machine.

01:03:39.48
ukfilmreview
and But it was a film that was, yeah so it was directed by Richard H. Lieford, who's a celebrated filmmaker, and was essentially lost, and but it was restored by Ed Hartman um and so some others, I believe, who and and Ed Hartman does the score for it.

01:04:00.73
Brian Penn
um

01:04:01.58
ukfilmreview
So yeah, do you want to describe the film, Brian?

01:04:05.53
Brian Penn
Yes, yeah, with pleasure. um So the scalpel is really a play on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Howard Van Cleef is into dangerous experiments.

01:04:18.36
Brian Penn
and he has perfected a compound to cure cretinism um and begins injecting his thyroid with inevitable results. And I think it's an absolute gem.

01:04:31.03
Brian Penn
I really enjoyed it.

01:04:31.24
ukfilmreview
Mmm.

01:04:32.44
Brian Penn
You know, I was familiar with Richard H. Lieford's work because he was a special effects pioneer on Walt Disney films. So I knew him from his later career, but this is at the very beginning of his career ah when he was in his late teens.

01:04:48.30
Brian Penn
I think it's excellent. It's, you know, Ed Hartman ah he deserves huge credit for bringing a film like this up to standard and to giving giving it that extra bit of polish and it looks very fresh and very new and is effectively a silent movie, which I think is interesting in itself because 1936, you know, they'd gone over to the talkies almost exclusively by then. So it was unusual back then to have a film that was silent.

01:05:17.52
Brian Penn
but I really liked it. It invokes a lot of memories for me of a Saturday morning TV at Christmas when they would often play a lot of silent movies like this, just to fill in the schedules.

01:05:28.46
Brian Penn
And I think they're they're great fun. They're very inventive. And it also, it's very important that we feature Richard H. Leiford in a feature on independent films because from what I can understand, he he was one of the daddies of independent filmmaking.

01:05:43.04
ukfilmreview
ah yeah Yeah, it felt very accessible and for a film that is

01:05:44.53
Brian Penn
So I think it's very important that he's featured here and that He's getting credit for the films that he made that predated the career that most people know him for. I think it's great fun. I think it's got lots of style and lots of energy. Very, very good. I liked it a lot.

01:06:06.39
ukfilmreview
like i say not even for the 30s it does feel like it was even from before that by the style of it and but it has that classic kind of monster movie feel to it i think that's what i really liked about it was that it was like being transported back to those old horror movies that they you know they used to put out and it has the aesthetic of that but it also

01:06:10.50
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

01:06:22.11
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:06:28.81
Brian Penn
yeah

01:06:30.39
ukfilmreview
does feel like they've rejuvenated in some way and you can imagine you obviously we get remakes of films but they don't necessarily keep that original tone and and original methodology i think with the scalpel what they've done here it it feels it feels at one point it feels like it is a historic artifact but on the other ah hand it feels like actually this is something we should be watching now this is great um

01:06:35.45
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:06:50.50
Brian Penn
um

01:06:54.23
Brian Penn
Well, yeah.

01:06:55.65
ukfilmreview
really, like I say, it is a Jekyll and Hyde story.

01:06:59.68
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:07:00.24
ukfilmreview
The plot is fairly ah so straightforward to keep up with, but but well done.

01:07:03.83
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:07:05.41
ukfilmreview
Some great performances in there. um It's always interesting seeing actors performing, obviously, the cards come up and things like that.

01:07:07.38
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:07:14.05
Brian Penn
No, I think it's great.

01:07:14.79
ukfilmreview
um Yeah, Barbara Berger plays the sort of nurse and she's really good.

01:07:16.08
Brian Penn
I love that sort of thing. Yeah. Yeah.

01:07:20.26
ukfilmreview
um Yes, the makeup effects was going to say as well, the special effect, sort of the makeup was really good. um Some scenes with the characters using that I felt that really stood out as being particularly powerful.

01:07:26.58
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:07:33.27
ukfilmreview
And let me say, this is an indie filmmaker. This isn't like a studio film. this isn't some yeah He was experimenting a lot.

01:07:36.37
Brian Penn
oh

01:07:39.91
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:07:40.83
ukfilmreview
And at such a young age, I mean, I hate to think about what the film I would have made at 19.

01:07:41.07
Brian Penn
Yeah. I know.

01:07:46.40
ukfilmreview
Jeez.

01:07:47.13
Brian Penn
Exactly. I think it's got a hell of a lot going for it. But bear in mind that these films were just uncovered, weren't they in a in an attic or a loft somewhere in any time. And to be able to take something like that, that's, you know, almost 90 years old and restore it sufficiently for it to look, come across so sharp and clear, you know, the, the rest of the, the standard of restoration is brilliant. Right. I reckon, you know, it's, it almost feels like something made today. That's a parody, a send up of, um, silent movies back then.

01:08:25.35
Brian Penn
if you see what I'm getting at, you know, it has that freshness of being on set, but that shows how ah ahead of his time he was bringing what he was doing. And as far as I know, I don't think there was anyone else doing anything similar like that at the same, that was doing it outside the studio system as well, which he was. So that's lots of brownie points there for him. And i hopefully it introduces the the audience to to his work and not just what he was doing with Walt Disney, but what he did before that, which is great. And it's all about uncovering gems like this. And it's always good when this is discovered and it comes to light and we're able to to watch it and review it and enjoy it for the first time.

01:09:12.04
ukfilmreview
I'm very honored to say that Ed Hartman actually provided us with a little narrative intro for the film.

01:09:18.27
Brian Penn
um okay yeah

01:09:19.57
ukfilmreview
So I'm going to play that now because he gives lots of really useful information. So this is from Ed Hartman.

01:09:23.01
Brian Penn
yeah

01:10:44.43
ukfilmreview
I love it when filmmakers do my job for me.

01:10:45.39
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:10:47.97
ukfilmreview
It makes it so much easier.

01:10:48.29
Brian Penn
I know. ah Yeah.

01:10:50.00
ukfilmreview
And they're so much cleaner about it, aren't they? They don't fumble with all the details like I do.

01:10:52.02
Brian Penn
Yeah. Yeah.

01:10:54.12
ukfilmreview
They just know what to say. And I just stick, I sit here and ruin it.

01:10:55.91
Brian Penn
But ah chris Chris, they've rehearsed it, haven't they?

01:10:57.78
ukfilmreview
So, yeah,

01:10:59.85
Brian Penn
How many times have they taken that? You know you never know, do you?

01:11:03.87
ukfilmreview
ah yeah that's what I'll tell myself that. I'll say that, yeah, I did that like 50 times.

01:11:05.91
Brian Penn
I can vouch for you for the fact you are doing it live.

01:11:10.58
ukfilmreview
yeah

01:11:14.81
Brian Penn
No worries. I tell what's in yeah no reader ah see you what's interesting about that clip though is that you really see what what a great technician Richard H.

01:11:15.67
ukfilmreview
No redos.

01:11:24.60
Brian Penn
Leifert was and that he is a pioneer in every sense of the word. I mean, to to do what he did and what he went on to do. Anyone who wins an Oscar obviously knows their stuff.

01:11:37.56
Brian Penn
they knows what they They know what they're doing and they've mastered their craft. So I think it's great that um it's coming to light, it's being brought to light. And I think it's important to do that. You know, there are lots of great stories out there, lots of great characters, people that have worked in the movies who we don't know about, you know, but nevertheless, it contributes to something fantastic to to filmmaking. And that's what Richard H. Loeffler has done. So I think it's only right, we should be but view reviewing this type of but this type of film. It's great.

01:12:09.63
ukfilmreview
It's really an amazing position that we're in, that only we showcase in modern indie filmmakers. I'm hoping to shine a light on them because we do get to see some amazing ah indie movies.

01:12:16.89
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:12:20.84
Brian Penn
Yeah, we do. Yeah.

01:12:22.50
ukfilmreview
But now it's like, yeah this is one for sort of the film history buffs.

01:12:23.80
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:12:26.28
ukfilmreview
you know They may not have known that.

01:12:26.38
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:12:27.60
ukfilmreview
you know we We're pretty unfamiliar with it. and

01:12:31.06
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:12:31.20
ukfilmreview
to have that uncovered by a modern indie filmmaker and shown yeah to us is amazing.

01:12:34.83
Brian Penn
yeah

01:12:37.05
ukfilmreview
And I think the lineage of that is something that a lot of people respect, a lot of people enjoy.

01:12:37.28
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:12:43.26
ukfilmreview
And it's also a film that the scalpel with with Ed Hartman's score that is worthy of a modern audience. It's something that I could easily see that yeah they playing that on on a platform or on ah on a streaming service and people enjoying it.

01:12:57.60
ukfilmreview
especially those who do enjoy silent movies that are a fan of that era because it's a very very good one and much like something like Embrace Disruption it's like the more you know about that I think the more you're going to get out of it the more you know the story of who this is and why you're watching it and yeah that' that's really great so

01:13:05.55
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:13:13.80
Brian Penn
Yeah. Hmm. Hmm.

01:13:19.39
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:13:20.27
ukfilmreview
Thank you very much to Ed for sending that and also to all our filmmakers for sending us your movies.

01:13:22.63
Brian Penn
Hmm.

01:13:26.63
ukfilmreview
We are we are very honoured and we hope we view some justice to just talk about your films and give our versions of what we thought of them.

01:13:26.92
Brian Penn
and

01:13:36.38
Brian Penn
Yeah.

01:13:36.64
ukfilmreview
And yeah, that's it for this special episode because we've done six indie films, which is just brilliant. It's a monster episode, really.

01:13:46.46
Brian Penn
I mean, yeah, Chris, I think we we have to highlight the quality of independent films we see.

01:13:52.45
ukfilmreview
Hmm.

01:13:53.77
Brian Penn
They are really very, very good. And so I started reviewing with you. I wasn't aware of what was out there and it shows that it can pass you by and you do need to look out for it because you do see a lot of quality films that you might miss but it's just that they can pass you by because I think we do tend to turn our eyes towards big theatrical releases and it's easy to do but you miss out on an awful lot

01:14:04.62
ukfilmreview
Oh, yeah.

01:14:27.66
Brian Penn
if you don't look elsewhere this yes it's official

01:14:30.42
ukfilmreview
you go you've been warned all right brian has warned you you're gonna miss out um so stay tuned to our podcast um because we will be reviewing more indie films we may not be on the next episode it depends if we'll come in because we've actually caught up now managed to uh bring them all into the forefront but we'll see we might get a few before we do our next episode but if not the next episode will be where we do um

01:14:44.48
Brian Penn
know

01:14:53.90
ukfilmreview
some theatrical films, streaming films, nostalgia pick as normal. um But to everyone who's listened, thank you. To everyone who sent films in, thank you. And to Brian, a big thank you.

01:15:05.81
Brian Penn
A pleasure as always.

01:15:07.64
ukfilmreview
It's been a pleasure. um So yeah, thank you everyone and we'll see you again next time.

01:15:13.18
Brian Penn
Bye for now.