While filmmaker Joshua Caldwell is thoroughly American, he has made a French film -- as in, virtually all of the dialogue is in French, and the lead character Simone, a young Parisienne stuck in LA for 12 hours, also achieves an obviously "not American" vibe. In fact, the cranky and standoffish Simone isn't very likable as we get to know her, again atypical for American film fare.
What is charming about this film is how Caldwell manages to capture moments of real truth through the interaction of his characters. On the phone to boyfriend Alain in Singapore whom she is traveling to join, Simone becomes irritated with his insistence on helping her. She looks up a friend in LA, and their reunion visit packs all the messy love and betrayal of a real adolescent relationship that's been outgrown. And through the chance meeting with an adorable-but-unnamed young man on a motorbike, Simone comes to a new understanding of her life.
Other reviewers have remarked about the fact that the film was made for $5,000 -- Caldwell's VOD interview reveals that it's actually more like $6,000 -- and that's remarkable for a couple of reasons. One of them is, you will never know that this is a low-budget film from watching it. It is simply a film in the style of the French cinema of the 60s. For that alone, I urge you to take a look: it's available for purchase on Gumroad.com. The acting is great, the dialogue is great, the music is great -- just a very accomplished piece of work.
The second reason the budget is especially relevant is as described by Caldwell in the VOD interview: the indie film industry is in decline, and with the emergence of social publishing technologies, he is exploring the "new normal" of small filmmaking. This clearly sets a high water mark for truly low budget (as in pocket change low budget) filmmaking, and I am eager to see the other two films that will complete this planned trilogy, as well as films by others inspired by Caldwell and Company.
Joshua Caldwell has shown us that all you need to make a great movie is a great idea and talent -- so get to it!
What is charming about this film is how Caldwell manages to capture moments of real truth through the interaction of his characters. On the phone to boyfriend Alain in Singapore whom she is traveling to join, Simone becomes irritated with his insistence on helping her. She looks up a friend in LA, and their reunion visit packs all the messy love and betrayal of a real adolescent relationship that's been outgrown. And through the chance meeting with an adorable-but-unnamed young man on a motorbike, Simone comes to a new understanding of her life.
Other reviewers have remarked about the fact that the film was made for $5,000 -- Caldwell's VOD interview reveals that it's actually more like $6,000 -- and that's remarkable for a couple of reasons. One of them is, you will never know that this is a low-budget film from watching it. It is simply a film in the style of the French cinema of the 60s. For that alone, I urge you to take a look: it's available for purchase on Gumroad.com. The acting is great, the dialogue is great, the music is great -- just a very accomplished piece of work.
The second reason the budget is especially relevant is as described by Caldwell in the VOD interview: the indie film industry is in decline, and with the emergence of social publishing technologies, he is exploring the "new normal" of small filmmaking. This clearly sets a high water mark for truly low budget (as in pocket change low budget) filmmaking, and I am eager to see the other two films that will complete this planned trilogy, as well as films by others inspired by Caldwell and Company.
Joshua Caldwell has shown us that all you need to make a great movie is a great idea and talent -- so get to it!