I saw this at the Seattle International Film Festival. This film was essentially well made. I was sufficiently drawn in by the performances - except - I couldn't stop thinking about all of the themes and effects which were copied/homage to Lynch films, especially 'Lost Highway' and 'Mulholland Drive'. This became more and more pronounced toward the ending. The nonlinear narrative further served to remove me from the flow of events and put me in a cerebral mode. Interestingly a few days later I saw the 2004 Hungarian film Másnap (After the Day Before). In many ways, plot-wise, this was even closer to November than the Lynch Films (and Masnap had references to Lynch as well). Both were divided into a small number sections which were preceded by title cards with short names. In each case, the time line was non-linear with ambiguity regarding whether we were seeing new events, or flashbacks, or changed versions of past events. Evidently November was written in 2 weeks in 2004. Had the makers seen Masnap? Anyhow this 73-minute movie is visually and auditory impressive, even if the nonlinear plot is a bit gimmicky and one might guess the ending (particularly if one has seen Mulholland Drive of Masnap).
November
(I) (2004)
*SPOILERS* nice performances, jarring plot gimmicks
5 June 2005
Warning: Spoilers