Christmas
- Episode aired Oct 30, 2012
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1.40: Christmas by D.J. Mendel: Well delivered tough tale from and by Mendel
I'm not entirely sure what it says about D.J. Mendel's vision of America (which is the remit of this series), but this short film is an engagingly delivered and written piece from the point of view of an underclass of America. The subject of the piece is a man who last heard from his sister when she went on the run to avoid jail, at least for a few weeks so she could spend Christmas on the outside. To an unseen other person he relates what she did and how he had lost her a long time ago – perhaps not all her fault.
As a piece it effectively captures people who are normally on the edges of films or television programs – the drug addicts, the lost people living day-to-day disconnected from others, the family members who long since gave on up their siblings and live tough lives. These are generally supporting characters but here we get a focus on a man and the woman; the man is tough and slightly aggressive, speaking about terrible crimes as if he was relating something surprising he saw on his way into work that day, and as he does so he also reveals a bit about himself too. The impression of the two characters is well drawn and also well delivered by Mendel (in terms of writing and performance). The film edits around the monologue but the edits are very good, rarely breaking the flow or even really sticking out as occurring, which is to the benefit of the film. Perhaps not as much food for thought as some of the others in the series, but still an engagingly drawn and delivered short.
As a piece it effectively captures people who are normally on the edges of films or television programs – the drug addicts, the lost people living day-to-day disconnected from others, the family members who long since gave on up their siblings and live tough lives. These are generally supporting characters but here we get a focus on a man and the woman; the man is tough and slightly aggressive, speaking about terrible crimes as if he was relating something surprising he saw on his way into work that day, and as he does so he also reveals a bit about himself too. The impression of the two characters is well drawn and also well delivered by Mendel (in terms of writing and performance). The film edits around the monologue but the edits are very good, rarely breaking the flow or even really sticking out as occurring, which is to the benefit of the film. Perhaps not as much food for thought as some of the others in the series, but still an engagingly drawn and delivered short.
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- bob the moo
- Feb 13, 2015
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