When you have $800,000 to make a film with an actor like Leguizamo and you're on location in a perilous neighborhood
and, when you have the passion and integrity that these filmmakers exhibit, it's difficult not to champion the spirit of independent film-making. As opposed to the grossly budgeted wastes that studios constantly call "films", here we have a filmmaker and a cast dedicated to story and to capturing something of the human condition. Hollywood pretends to have the answers and consequently puts out garbage because it makes money and justifies the jobs of bloated, overpaid executives who wouldn't know "art" if it bit them in the ass. Our culture goes to see these movies because their options are limited because of the far reach of the distribution system in place. That is why Soderbergh and others like him have experimented with non-conventional ways of distributing a film, so that money and time, our most valuable resources, are not squandered, but used wisely to reach more people with stories that are told using hearts, not egos.
I was at the premiere of "The Take" in Toronto last year and was very touched by the "Q&A" that followed the screening. To see this filmmaker stand in front of so many people and thank his parents, his cast and crew in a way that shared the adulation instead of hogging it for his own personal gain this was encouraging. To learn of the trials and tribulations on this particular film was eye-opening and gave me a better understanding of what goes on "behind the scenes", particularly with little to no money. I'm learning that to get a film made outside the studio system is next to impossible. Many talk, few dare and even fewer actually do. Mr. Furman should be commended for his work, on screen, of course, but sometimes, where somebody might find a story lacking on the screen, if they look towards what happened off-screen, they may be heartened to know that art and artists are fighting hard everyday to bring their perspective of the world to as many people as possible. Nothing is perfect and a film that has all the answers (as most studio films try to convey) is not doing it's job to present the questions.
"The Take" is dark and bleak at times, but underlying its grit is a story of hope, reconciliation and the fight of the human spirit. It is really easy to judge and critique, but for those who have never made a film, perhaps try before you disparage the work of what I consider to be one of our great, future filmmakers and story tellers.
Oh, on a side, yet important note, the performance of John Leguizamo was one of the most real and heart-breaking of seen of his, and he's a fine actor.
I was at the premiere of "The Take" in Toronto last year and was very touched by the "Q&A" that followed the screening. To see this filmmaker stand in front of so many people and thank his parents, his cast and crew in a way that shared the adulation instead of hogging it for his own personal gain this was encouraging. To learn of the trials and tribulations on this particular film was eye-opening and gave me a better understanding of what goes on "behind the scenes", particularly with little to no money. I'm learning that to get a film made outside the studio system is next to impossible. Many talk, few dare and even fewer actually do. Mr. Furman should be commended for his work, on screen, of course, but sometimes, where somebody might find a story lacking on the screen, if they look towards what happened off-screen, they may be heartened to know that art and artists are fighting hard everyday to bring their perspective of the world to as many people as possible. Nothing is perfect and a film that has all the answers (as most studio films try to convey) is not doing it's job to present the questions.
"The Take" is dark and bleak at times, but underlying its grit is a story of hope, reconciliation and the fight of the human spirit. It is really easy to judge and critique, but for those who have never made a film, perhaps try before you disparage the work of what I consider to be one of our great, future filmmakers and story tellers.
Oh, on a side, yet important note, the performance of John Leguizamo was one of the most real and heart-breaking of seen of his, and he's a fine actor.