I saw "The Mushroom Sessions" at the 2010 LA Shorts Festival. It was my favorite film of the festival -- and I saw dozens of films that week.
The film is about man and a woman using drugs, but its approach is neither sensational nor judgmental. The mushroom eating is just a starting point to explore these characters, their relationship, and their hopeless love. As their defenses and judgment are eroded by the drugs, we get to see them in increasingly raw and vulnerable states.
The man and the woman are never judged by the film, which lets us get closer and closer to them. We watch them unravel, and what we see feels intimate, sad and real.
The two actors were amazing. The roles seemed demanding, requiring more than trite simulated emotion. It felt like both of them really opened themselves up to feel love for these two flawed people.
When a film shows me a beauty that's not necessarily happy, a beauty that's not necessarily pretty, I feel that that's a great film.
The film is about man and a woman using drugs, but its approach is neither sensational nor judgmental. The mushroom eating is just a starting point to explore these characters, their relationship, and their hopeless love. As their defenses and judgment are eroded by the drugs, we get to see them in increasingly raw and vulnerable states.
The man and the woman are never judged by the film, which lets us get closer and closer to them. We watch them unravel, and what we see feels intimate, sad and real.
The two actors were amazing. The roles seemed demanding, requiring more than trite simulated emotion. It felt like both of them really opened themselves up to feel love for these two flawed people.
When a film shows me a beauty that's not necessarily happy, a beauty that's not necessarily pretty, I feel that that's a great film.
