12

The film 12 certainly is groundbreaking in its presentation. The guerrilla drive-in is a brilliant idea, in which the projectionist displays the movie on a wall in a parking lot and sends the audio to your car radio through a low-power FM transmitter. Incidentally, the projectionist at the showing that I attended had not obtained permission to use the parking lot, and the owner of the building came out about halfway through the movie, but he allowed us to finish the viewing anyway. The audio and video quality falls short of that of a theater, of course, but it's an excellent method for showing films without having to sign with a distributor, which leads to the reason (in my opinion) that 12 doesn't have a distributor: the movie simply isn't very good, and comes nowhere near the quality of either big budget blockbusters or Sundance/Cannes fare.

Lawrence Bridges spent approximately 12 years in production and post-production on this movie (hence the title), and although it has some decent cinematography, 12 is neither enjoyable nor thought-provoking. The movie plays as if Bridges was trying to stuff many years of loosely related ideas into one feature. Basically, the lesser Greek gods are forced by Zeus to act out Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" under threat of death. The squabbles between the gods cause disasters in the city of Los Angeles, such as the Northridge earthquake and the riots that resulted from the Rodney King verdict. Bridges uses real footage that he filmed during these events, and well it is an interesting idea, the film does not segue well into these scenes. They seem jammed into the movie, and do not actually affect anything. As the movie progressed, I felt that it lost its purpose, and that I was just watching a mediocre performance of "The Importance of Being Earnest." The fact that the characters were Greek gods affected the movie only to a small degree; it seemed to be just another potentially interesting idea that should have been better incorporated. Some social commentary on the denizens of Los Angeles is in the script too, and this is generally effective, funny, and often quite accurate, but these flares of quality do not make the rest of the movie any more bearable.

Anyway, 12 is worth watching simply because of the novel format of the guerrilla drive-in. Don't expect anything particularly groundbreaking in the film itself, but if you don't enjoy it, at least it was free.

Showing 12 on the streets of los angeles is one of the most daring things an indipendent filmaker can do. 12 and the guerrilla-filmaking experience remember us why sometimes we watch movies, that is leave with something that makes us think. First of all, 12 is a very original picture: the illegitimate children of Greek God Zeus are anxiously waiting for their father to move them to new lives. But he gives them a task: in order to survive, they will have to find a play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," by Oscar Wilde, in which they must perform if they want to survive. So they wander in the City of Angels where they meet colorful characters, fall in love and manage to fullfill their goal. The director took 12 years to put together his movie, that shows plenty of dedication and determination for something that was certainly not thought to be mainstream. The problem with 12 is that, as we are so accostumed with watching movies that we already know how they are going to begin and end, we have a problem with a movie that does not flow like some dramatica guru has decided stories have to be told. But that is what makes 12 fascinating, it attempts to tell a story, a very original one, by breaking the rules of both storytelling and filmaking. 12 may not work all the time, but its flaws are often what push you to think freely and hopefully fill the gaps, which is what art should do.

I was fortunate to see this film in 2004 at the Syracuse International Film & Video Festival, and even more fortunate that Larry Bridges himself appeared at the conclusion of the film to answer questions.

The film does not possess a conventional, linear plot. I found the storyline to be rather surreal, but I don't think of this as a criticism. As Bridges remarked, he didn't "storyboard" his film, but left himself open as cinematographer/director/writer to the unplanned and the improvisational. The storyline, which alludes to the capricious relationships of Greek myth and Greek gods, mirrors in a lighthearted way the chaotic events in Los Angeles in the 1990's that are represented in the film. It was a decade of earthquakes, riots, and floods. Apparently Bridges kept filming right through the 1992 riots: foolhardy and inspiring. I do confess that I don't understand the emphasis on Wilde's play, "The Importance of Being Earnest," but never mind - caprice of the gods.

I think this film is a remarkable and unique work of art. The texture that Bridges achieved in editing material acquired over a decade of filming has the richness of life itself. One sees the actual aging of its actresses and actors, who are surprisingly credible in their roles as gods, demigods, and mortals. The physical environment of Southern California is lovingly and widely represented. The images include aerial and wide-angle landscapes of the Channel Islands, local icons such as Mann's Chinese Theater, City Hall, and LAX, to the urban landscape of South Central and Korea Town.

I was engrossed by the film for its entire 124 minutes.

After first seeing 12 at the Guerilla drive in, there was only one word that came to mind, epic. 12 had everything a great movie should have. An interesting plot, character development, and plenty of action.

The movie had some of the most amazing shots of LA and Catalina that I've ever seen. It reminded me of how beautiful Los Angeles is. 12 also touches into LA's eventful past, floods, earth quakes, and riots..

After reading a bit on 12 i learned a few interesting things about the Film maker: Larry Bridges, and the making of the film. It took 12 years to make 12! Talk about dedication and persistence.

I'm a screenwriter and film maker and 12 has definitely influenced me and inspired me about what it means to be a film maker. 12 definitely sets the bar when it comes to independent features.

i must admit that i am not in the movie business. nevertheless i had the chance of seeing this movie in the directors cut version. even though i probably understood 60% of the plot (if there was something as a "real plot"), i enjoyed it even more. it is by far one of the best movies i have seen in the last years. it captured me from the first scene and kept me hooked until the end. the pictures, the sound, the idea itself, the actors (except of this Allen guy, he really got on my nerves), the colors and the way Larry portrays los Angeles fascinated me. as a European, no other "American" movie has made such an impression on me since at least 5 years. i hope to see in future time many more American movies taking risks such as this one.