Chicago – Five years after earning praise for his directorial debut, “…Around,” indie filmmaker David Spaltro has returned behind the camera to deliver his second feature. The film, “Things I Don’t Understand” may be many things, but a sophomore slump it is not. Its assured craftsmanship, fine performances and provocative themes have made it one of the most buzzed-about pictures on the festival circuit.
Molly Ryman stars as Violet, a jaded grad student who develops a friendship with two outsiders—a mysterious bartender, Parker (Aaron Mathias), and a cancer-stricken teen, Sara (Grace Folsom). Meanwhile, Violet’s eccentric roommates, Gabby (Meissa Hampton) and Remy (Hugo Dillon), struggle to avoid getting evicted from their cozy loft. Beautifully lensed by cinematographer Gus Sacks, the film explores faith, doubt, friendship and the beauty that can be found in catharsis. Spaltro served as writer, producer, director and editor on the picture, which has already garnered various awards this year.
Molly Ryman stars as Violet, a jaded grad student who develops a friendship with two outsiders—a mysterious bartender, Parker (Aaron Mathias), and a cancer-stricken teen, Sara (Grace Folsom). Meanwhile, Violet’s eccentric roommates, Gabby (Meissa Hampton) and Remy (Hugo Dillon), struggle to avoid getting evicted from their cozy loft. Beautifully lensed by cinematographer Gus Sacks, the film explores faith, doubt, friendship and the beauty that can be found in catharsis. Spaltro served as writer, producer, director and editor on the picture, which has already garnered various awards this year.
- 7/25/2012
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Things I Don’t Understand
Written by David Spaltro
Directed by David Spaltro
USA, 2012
Of the many unanswerable metaphysical questions that surround life, the most confounding, ironically, are those that concern death. Humanity’s pathological and evolutionary imperative to survive has driven us to try and rationalize our collective eventualities, in hopes to both understand and maybe, just maybe, bring about some kind of curative. An endeavor first taken on by philosophers, their eloquent scribblings only conciliate the fact that we still don’t know the nature of death.
Some filmmakers, whom are, what some would argue, our modern philosophers, still strive to enlighten by using cinema as a breakthrough meditative medium. Writer and director David Spaltro comes from this particular school of thought, but, like his forbearers, his contributions to the discourse are fairly nominal.
A film peppered with macabre musings à la Richard Linklater, his aptly titled Things I Don’t Understand,...
Written by David Spaltro
Directed by David Spaltro
USA, 2012
Of the many unanswerable metaphysical questions that surround life, the most confounding, ironically, are those that concern death. Humanity’s pathological and evolutionary imperative to survive has driven us to try and rationalize our collective eventualities, in hopes to both understand and maybe, just maybe, bring about some kind of curative. An endeavor first taken on by philosophers, their eloquent scribblings only conciliate the fact that we still don’t know the nature of death.
Some filmmakers, whom are, what some would argue, our modern philosophers, still strive to enlighten by using cinema as a breakthrough meditative medium. Writer and director David Spaltro comes from this particular school of thought, but, like his forbearers, his contributions to the discourse are fairly nominal.
A film peppered with macabre musings à la Richard Linklater, his aptly titled Things I Don’t Understand,...
- 6/19/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
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