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After the Mumbles

After The Mumbles
by Zachary Wigon- 

When I was younger and falling in love with the French New Wave, I was shocked to learn that this revolutionary tide of cinematic exuberance lasted only for a few years: most "scholars" of the movement mark the beginning as 1959, and the end as '63 or '64. How could such an influential movement not last longer than even four years, I wondered. Now, four years for one film movement would feel like an eternity, as film fads come and go in fleeting instants. The recent spate of films dubbed "mumblecore" might have occupied such an instant. The genre, which truly blossomed from 2005 - 2007, hit its zenith in August of 2007 when the IFC Center in New York held what was essentially a mumblecore retro, a series of films dubbed "Generation DIY."

The two films that received exceptionally long runs in the festival were Joe Swanberg's Hannah Takes The Stairs, and Aaron Katz's Quiet City. It's interesting to note what time has done to the perceptions of these two filmmakers - while Swanberg's film, receiving national distribution via IFC First Take, was the more hotly anticipated of the two, it is Katz who has come away as the critics' darling, garnering a rave review in the Times and coming across unscathed in Amy Taubin's mumblecore hit-piece a few months back. Swanberg was not as lucky. I watched the goings-on with awe and wonder. It was one thing to be aware that a great film was in its initial theatrical release as you watched it, but another to release that you were observing what would go down as, major or minor, a piece of cinematic history.

The group of people who have made movies in this realm will be remembered as a significant wave of American directors, following the New Hollywood group in the late 90s as well as the Queer Cinema/New Indies group in the late 80s/early 90s. After having seen two films by filmmakers in this group made after the popularity upswell, I feel qualified to expound a bit on where things might go. These films are Baghead, by the Duplass brothers, and Nights and Weekends, by Swanberg and Hannah star Greta Gerwig. The Duplass brothers made The Puffy Chair, which I have not seen, but which was acknowledged to be a strong film by many I respect. Baghead is a fascinating move on the filmmakers' behalfs, something of a genre-bending mindfuck. On paper, it's a horror film; on screen, it's not quite so easy to pin down.

The film's concept and narrative are essentially put together out of horror cliches mixed with some commentary on the mumblecore craze itself; what's even more interesting, however, is that the film's aesthetic is the lo-fi, digital one that characterizes so many mumblecore films. Is it a mumblecore relationship movie? A searing critique/satire of those films, and the people who set out to make them? A horror film with a stunningly original aesthetic re-conceptualization of the genre? All of the above.

The success of the Duplass brothers' film stems from its ability to understand the cultural / critical / cinematic context from within which they are producing, and mock it, invert it, use it to their advantage. Swanberg & Gerwig's film fails to achieve this level of self-realization, at times (especially in the first half) playing like an unwitting parody of the kind of the films Baghead is quite wittingly parodying. It's about a long-distance relationship between two people, consisting only of the times in which they see each other, never the enormous gaps in between. It's an intelligent, pseudo-theoretical concept that feels not far from the way in which Swanberg dealt with intellectual issues in LOL, as well as the basis for his "realistic" aesthetic in general.

The biggest problem with Nights and Weekends (although it will not be discussed at length here, as I didn't set out to write a review) is its inability to see itself, to understand the ways in which it will be received and ultimately mocked for playing so directly into what one would expect it to be about. Massive exposure for an ultra-indie group of filmmakers is a mixed bag; your films are getting distribution and attention, but there is also a new set of expectations raised that your films will be viewed in the context of. To address or not address these expectations is up to the filmmakers to decide; how they address - or do not address - them will dictate where these filmmakers' careers will go.

What do you think? Post a comment.

Posted on 04/24/08 by: ZacharyWigon 12:14 AM