Camera (2000/III)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

David Cronenberg

Writer:

David Cronenberg (writer)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

While a veteran actor laments the state of film and film acting, a group of young children sneak a Panavision camera into the apartment where the actor resides and decide to make a film with it. |

Plot Keywords:

Confession | Behind The Scenes | Video

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Leslie Carlson	...	The Actor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marc Donato	...	Lead
Harrison Kane	...	Lead
Kyle Kass	...	Lead (as Kyle Kassardjian)
Natasha La Force		(as Natasha LaForce)
Katie Lai
Daniel Magder	...	Director
Chloe Randle-Reis		(as Chloe Reis)
Stephanie Sams
Camille Shniffer	...	Lead

Runtime:

6 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Trivia:

This short film is featured on the 2-Disc Criterion Collection DVD for Videodrome (1983).

Quotes:

The Actor: When you record the moment, you record the death of the moment. Children and death are a bad combination.

Some thoughts on the analytical point of view

I just recently watched camera for the first time (there showing it on www.lovefilm.com for free).

What i gathered that this film somewhere along the line parallels with cronenberg's life (just speculation). Les carlson (the old man) seems to talk about the anxieties of not working and that the thoughts/dreams or physicality of the film world keeps him motivated and feeling less anxious. we also see the kids (these are the secondary subject, or maybe the primary)as they plod along setting up the camera but not in a childlike or juvenile way, they rig, set up the mixing boards, set the lights and rig the camera completely. Some thoughts on this subject made me think of the new generation of filmmakers Cronenberg has to encounter (he also could be calling new filmmakers 'Kids', but this illustrates a more profound answer - maybe they are not, and they are taking over). I mainly state this as the solution to the old man talking as the kids are setting everything up around him - he doesn't notice whats going on, he's to busy talking about his own problems and the fact that he is a retired actor.

you really have to watch the film to get what I mean.

It could also just be a fragment of cronenbergs sense of humour.

I hope more people watch this short film and offer their thoughts as to its subtext and maybe even symbolism.