Based on reviews and summaries of the film's plot, I can tell you that Zel, a fortune teller, lives in a house of the edge of the woods. But she does not live alone, no. She lives with many ghosts, and uses them in her fortune telling practice. The ghosts include spirits from a mute child, a priest, a bride, a band of musicians, and super villains When the ghosts realize that they are being held at the house, they rebel, and are unhappy. The story lies within how Zel and the ghosts resolve there conflicts.
This film was produced in Marin County, CA and it has won awards at the Sun dance Festival And Mill Valley Film Festival. The film was produced by Better Angels Film company and INDIEPIX. The film's screenplay writer and director is Tim Rutili. Tim and Glen Sherman own and run Better Angels Film. Tim is primarily a musician, he is involved in many bands, and has made at least 3 films.
My first thoughts after watching this movie:
- The story ended comfortably for all characters although I am not sure what the light symbolizes. or why Zel unplugged it form it's energy source.
- I loved the parts of the film when the ghosts are interviewed, that was fabulous, I wish there had been more interview, and we could have known who was doing the interviewing.
- Why was Nyla the only ghost whose soul was different then their appearance? Nyla is the mute child who actually turns out to be Zel's mother who passed away and her soul was trapped in the house along with the other ghosts.
- The mother was filmed plainly in only a few locations but it was also explicit. It told the story of the psychic family and it's history in that house.
The movie was clear cut, the characters and plot defined he whole time. I found it interesting that the conflict was not revealed until about a third through the movie. I thought it would be introduced earlier, it seems like the ending was a little abrupt. As soon as Zel found a way to free the trapped ghosts(spirits) she did, without question. I would have liked to see the producers indulge a little more on the emotions Zel was feeling when she watched her family, the people(ghosts) she had grown up with turn away from her and move on to a new existence.
I am not a follower of Better Angels Film or of INDIEPIX movie producers, so I cannot judge how closely this falls to their other work. However along the lines of Indie film industry, I'd say it was surprising. Many indie films try to tell an underlying story, like treat others as you wish to be treated, conserve natural resources, those sorts of things. Well, I felt that this was one of the singular Indie movies based on fiction and creativity. I loved how it was candidly obscene and plainly spoken.
I believe that Indie films are very important. Because they are essentially local movies. Indie film industry allows anyone with motivation and an idea to create art that audience can view interpret and understand. Big box films are mindless, the story is spelled out for the audience, but and indie film is created for thought. I think Indie film industry has the potential of captivating audiences as large as major box office films.
The target audience member is me. Really the Indie film market is appealing to young adults seeking to expand their intelligence, provoke thought and enjoy a short story at their leisure. The usual Audience for Indie films is "kids" who want to do something abnormal, but still safe. Viewers are searching for ideas that are not mainstream and haven't been polluted by Hollywood. The market for Indie film viewers is on the rise. As more and more festivals open like Sun Dance and Mill Valley, Indie films are getting more exposure and attracting more audience members.
About a week later I am writing this evaluation. Yes, I forgot I watched that movie. However, when reminded I remember the entire movie and I remember recommending to others that they should also watch it. I enjoyed this movie. I felt like it had a good conflict, which maybe was too easily resolved, developed great characters; they definitely made the movie! I appreciated the art and determination behind this film. I think the producers and directors put a lot of effort and dedication into this film. The actors did a great job of convincing the audience they were ghosts or psychics. I would have liked to see either the story drawn out more and resolved equal to the build up or with less detail in the same amount of time.
Here's a professional review by John Defore for AP:
The reviewer essentially feels like this was the bands art project, more than a feature film and it would be hard to market. Which explains why it was on Netflix. I agree with this review, it was interesting, entertaining for awhile, I could understand the characters,but it always seemed like a story without a moral. I don't see myself researchign the producer or his band, Califone. I appreciated his artwork and I'll leave it at that.
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