I debated with this one in my head for a little while. Finding that "something" to write about this title has been a difficult task to say the least. Should I be one of the good 'ol boys? Using the body of this review to give high fives, for an amazing job with this short film "Fugue" from Steven Adam Renkovish? The "powers that be" say yes, but really, who does that benefit? Let me be honest. "Fugue" is a tough film to follow. Not impossible, but definitely not for the casual viewer. It's artistic, experimental indie film in it's truest form. You'll either like it or you won't. Not much of a middle to this hand-held sandwich of a flick. The film does have an eerie quality trapped within itself, as this title creeps through it's ten minute length. But is it enough? Does a general feeling of unease or even one of dread make a good film? Sure, it's true. Independent film is cool because it follows no rules. Do what you like, how you like it. But should thought still be given to the casual viewer, if you plan to unleash your title to the general public? And not just within the indie, artsy circles... but generally speaking? In the end, that will be for you, the viewer to decide. Don't go taking my word for things I bring up in this review. These are my personal thoughts on this film, and I'm not afraid to say that maybe I just don't get it. Or... dare I write... maybe I'm more of a traditionalist. "Fugue" is a spiritual yet awkward short. More like a diary driven narrative or montage of sorts. This one really is a tough one to describe, since going into any real detail would potentially ruin the movie. Or, to it's credit, my interpretation may be completely different than yours. In this respect, Steven Adam Renkovish does indeed deliver an interesting movie. And, as I wrote above, a strange quality does in fact ooze from this title. So you may be wondering why I only scored it as an average film? Well for starters, an average low budget film is quite the compliment... when you consider many low budget movies are... well... crap. In this case however, it really was the technicalities that led me to my rating. I never, as a reviewer, treat a low budget film in any special way. It's either good or it's not. It's really that simple. The average movie watching "Joe" doesn't care how much was accomplished with little or no money. Why should I? In this day and age, many filmmakers using off the shelf camcorders and even, gasp, their iPhone cameras, manage to lock off their shots. Tripods ladies and gents. Even cheap ones do wonders for any project. This isn't 1999 and "Blair Witch" isn't all the rage. If a new filmmaker sporting an iPhone manages steady shots for his low budget film... why can't everyone else? I can't stress enough the importance of some traditional shooting. It's not even just the "shaky" aspects that really get to me. Many big budget films use movement and shake now-days. But they have great gear, and in their movies, it's just camera movement. Not jerky, blurring, trailing and jarring shots. It's a safe bet that with a little more traditional filming, I would have enjoyed this title a lot more. The days just running around holding your camera, and calling it an indie film, are long gone. If they were ever truly here in the first place. Things are not all... less than stellar though. Brittany Renee Smith does a fabulous job in her role. Coming across as incredibly tortured and sad. Her narrative gives "Fugue" a lot of it's charm. Being the only real character in the film, a lot was riding on her shoulders. She pulled it off quite nicely. I also commend the video edit itself, and the scoring mix within the film. All these individual pieces come together and really help create that eerie atmosphere. Don't misjudge an average review as an average film. If this particular style is your cup of tea, you're truly going to enjoy this. I really believe the hardcore, artistic film buffs will see a very different movie than I did. So there you have it. "Fugue" does, in fact, manage to bring forth some strange feelings within it's viewers. Mainly, myself. Just what those emotions are... I suspect will vary greatly from person to person. The one universal element, if I were to guess, would be sadness and that scare one gets when the unknown is involved. For people like me, into more traditional forms of movie making, this was a decent flick. For those into more experimental styles, this will probably be something to remember.
