(Distributed by IFC Midnight, The Catechism Cataclysm opens theatrically at the IFC Center on Wednesday, October 19, 2011. It becomes available on VOD beginning October 26th.) At the heart of Todd Rohal’s work is a very basic concept lost on today’s major theatrical audience who are hypnotized by the tired routine of familiar narrative structure. It’s so simple that it could be lost in the ether of the week’s releases comprised of cults and the continued ascension of the Catfish crew, but I’ll lay it out: Anything Goes. It’s a mindset that will definitely help you take on The Catechism […]
by John Lichman on Oct 20, 2011Editor’s Note: Part one of this essay, “Things That Seem Real: A Three-Part Essay on Catfish and Other Movies,” appeared Tuesday on the site and can be read here. Part Two appeared yesterday and can be read here. These essays contain major spoilers regarding the film Catfish. Catfish and Fakery. Catfish has some major truth-problems. Major. Like, plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. The stirrings of suspicion began instantly after its Sundance 2010 premiere. On January 30th, reporting from Sundance, Indiewire’s Bryce Renninger wrote that “Over the week since its premiere, though, many critics and audience members […]
by Zachary Wigon on Sep 23, 2010Editor’s Note: Part one of this essay, “Things That Seem Real: A Three-Part Essay on Catfish and Other Movies,” appeared yesterday on the site and can be read here. These essays contain major spoilers regarding the film Catfish. Part Two: Catfish and Fantasy Over the course of an eight-month relationship that contained no physicality, Nev and Megan stayed in touch constantly. Using email, Gchat, Facebook walls, text messaging and phone calls, they pushed the boundaries of what are commonly understood to be the limits of an online-only relationship. Megan tells Nev about her family and the horses she takes care […]
by Zachary Wigon on Sep 22, 2010As I wrote about on our newsletter a few weeks ago (and if you don’t get the weekly newsletter, why not? It’s free), we’ll be adding more new columns and original web content in the days ahead. On Friday we launched “Into the Splice,” Nicholas Rombes’s column on the pleasures of moviegoing. Every two weeks he’ll be going to a movie and writing an essay about the experiences and thoughts it triggers. And today we have the first of a three-part essay by Zachary Wigon on the multiple meanings of Catfish (pictured), examining it within the context of other movies […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 21, 2010Editor’s Note: The following essay contains major spoilers about the film Catfish. Part One: Catfish and Reality In the movie, the 14-year-old boy tells the school therapist that he likes to watch “little clips” on the computer, little videos. He describes them as “little clips of things that seem real.” Earlier in the film, we saw a montage of YouTube clips, from a cat playing piano to Saddam Hussein being hung to a baby laughing. Later in the film, the boy sees two girls die from a drug overdose right in front of him. How real that event does — […]
by Zachary Wigon on Sep 21, 2010The filmmakers Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman work together in New York as Supermarche, and are prolific producers of music videos, commercials and feature films (Opus Jazz: NY Export, premiering on PBS this Spring, is their latest.) They also share an office with Schulman’s younger brother, Yaniv. One day Yaniv got an email from an eight-year-old girl who wanted to paint a picture of one of his photographs (a production still from Opus Jazz that had run in the newspaper.) Egged on by his brother and Henry, Yaniv said yes, and instigated an intense correspondence not only with the girl […]
by Scott Macaulay on Jan 22, 2010[PREMIERE SCREENING: Friday, Jan. 22, 11:30 am — Library Center Theatre, Park City] Our film was a slow burn. It took eight months for the true story to emerge. The last two-thirds of the film unfold over the course of one incredible week. Our toughest decisions came in the editing room, trying to distill the most exhilarating, unsettling and ultimately revelatory week of our lives into an hour and a half.
by Jason Guerrasio on Jan 22, 2010