BELL JAR SCREENED
to a private audience at 2012 Rotterdam and some friends in Delft. it was interesting to note spectator responses, some of which were:
-camera too wobbly, that is distracting. counterpoint by another member of the audience- no, it gives a raw feeling to the whole movie.
-backdrop of tiles looks like a notebook on which the story is written. (quite a poetic comment)
-couldn't pay attention to the story because have to read subtitles.
-the dialogue sounds muffled. (from the only guy who understood french)
-usually a movie is made up of shots, action, imagery to tell a story. but you didn't use any of these. why?
-this is more like a theatrical production than it is a "normal" film. so the actions are subtle (like moving of fingers and the movement of the body)
-but how do you relate this to the dialogue?
relates in a subconscious way.
-very autobiographical! qualify yourself with a bible verse in the beginning! (it closes with a bible verse too but that wasn't subtitled...)
-why is it so red? wanted it to be abstract and in a dream world. red evokes emotions. countercomment- it might be worth seeing it in greyscale. another countercomment- let me try to edit it for you! (and now the project file is sitting in jos' computer...)
-can't see the expression of the eyes.
-the two people could tell separate stories and they could collide somewhere. (guess what, that's the basis of my second movie jos!)
-the acting was subtle, it wasn't overdone, so it was believable.
-the music was really good.
i asked some questions:
did you expect me to make such a (sad) film?
no. i didn't expect this.
yes.
did you expect this mood when you read the script?
yes.
do you understand what the girl is going through?
girls' answer: yes.
boy: it's scary, because you don't know what to expect. (long time ago comment from someone who read the script) other boys, no comment on the emotional part.
