“Buzkashi Boys” [rating:3.5/5]
“Buzkashi Boys” is an inspirational and visually marvelous short film. The story is about a blacksmith’s child trying to escape the ropes the world has set for him, specifically that he must be a blacksmith like his father. But the blacksmith’s son wants freedom, so his friend tries to convince him to become a buzkashi rider.
The cinematography in the film is beautiful and created with a palette of mainly greys, tans and blues, set in the mountainous city of Kabul, Afghastan.
“Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters”
[rating:4/5]
“Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters” is a documentary which follows photographer Gregory Crewdson as he works on his “Beneath The Roses” exhibit.
It’s a behind-the-scenes look at his work, but also a personal exploration into the genius of photographer himself.
The documentary is fairly well shot, although the images are sometimes blurry or out of focus.
Throughout the film we get to see how Crewdson creates his masterpieces. The amount of work that goes into one photograph is staggering. Crewdson scouts for areas to photograph then creates a written description of the picture. The work is then transferred to a storyboard and discussed with his art directors until they decide on how to begin building the set. Crewdson has to stay on set for two days to get the entirety of his work complete.
Each of Crewdson’s photographs has the production value of an independent film. Heworks on what appears to be film sets with equipment that is of film industry quality. The results are breathtaking.
Crewdson refers to working on a photograph as searching for a “perfect moment.” And he finds them; his photographs are vibrant though still, and pulse with energy. Each photograph ambiguously tells a story or asks a question as to what is happening in the scene.
But the documentary is about more than just Crewdson’s work. Although the work is the context for the film, the documentary is about the man behind the camera.
Crewdson is plenty interesting for a film about himself. We learn how he got into photography, we learn to like his personality and he tells us how he hatches his ideas.
“Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters” is a great introduction to Crewdson’s work if you are unfamiliar with it, and it is even more interesting if you are. If you are already a fan you will love the film, and if you are not you will be by the time the credits roll.
