REVIEWS FOR INDEPENDENT FILM, LOW BUDGET FILM, SHORT FILM & WEB SERIES
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How well do you politic? It's an odd question - but the truth is this. If the question makes sense to you... you're probably in the same boat as me. A little less politically enlightened than the average bear. I have never been all that politically active. There have been times, and I hate to admit it, that I haven't even voted. Not that it truly matters all that much, if you follow along with Johannes Grenzfurthner's message in this movie - but my point is this. Because I'm older than thirty... much older... I've managed to finally grasp the political basics of life. Nowhere near what I probably should know, but enough to understand how things work. Compared to a politically active teenager, or young adult, there's no question that I'm the newbie. With just enough understanding to be skillfully manipulated. I should also add that I'm using the term "skillfully" rather loosely.
So by this point you may be wondering how this all relates to this film? What does "Glossary Of Broken Dreams" have to do with my ability to politic? Again let me say that if that question makes sense to you... you may want to wait for a shortened version of this movie to be made. You see reader, "Glossary Of Broken Dreams" fires so much political and social theories, explanations and rhetoric that very quickly things become a jumbled soup of meaningless words, on a scale that is immeasurable for folks like me. I have no doubt that things all make perfect sense to anyone who follows politics, policies and socialism. For the masses that don't? It is just really fast paced. And yet... there is so much more to this film. Even though I found my brain pulsing at times throughout the movie, it was still entertaining. Even... dare I write... funny. In terms of presentation, almost anyone can watch this movie and chuckle or be mesmerized by the visual style. Even though they may not be able to follow along with exactly what's being said. It's not even a matter of things being overly complicated... more a matter of numbers. If you watched this film in segments, you would probably "get" most of it without a hitch. It's the massive amount of information in such a short time that is tough. Bringing me back to the idea of waiting for a shortened version to surface. Although reader... I doubt that will happen. "Glossary Of Broken Dreams" at it's core is a rant against society. Maybe that's not quite the best way to put it. It's a glossary of today's issues. The why's and how's. The way it's all put together is amusing. No doubt it's funny. Like most other things however, if you don't quite grasp everything going on, even the comedic way it's presented begins to wear thin. Those people with more relating knowledge than I have will absolutely love thinking about, and debating this film. For the rest of us however, it's a little long running. It's really hard to deny the expert way this movie was pieced together. It's a mix and match party of epic proportions. Old school video game graphics. Puppets. Musicians, anime, the kitchen sink. There's no shortage of style but more importantly, somehow these things all co-exist in seemingly perfect harmony. The gags are funny yet have purpose, and even I managed to learn a little sumpin-somthin' watching. It all comes back to the amount of information, and the length. Again, just to fill space in this write up, let me reiterate my opinion that anyone politically or socially active, in even the smallest way, will probably find the length and information spewed forward just perfect. However, I can't help but wonder if maybe even shortening the overall length a little, would help alleviate some of the information overload.
I did notice a "lot" of songs. At times, especially nearing the end, "Glossary Of Broken Dreams" began to feel more like a series of music videos. I'll admit... they were funny. They were performed well and they were entertaining. But... there were a lot. I feel like a good half hour or more was dedicated to the musical numbers. Other than that - what more can be said? This is a very dialog driven production. Did I expect something different? No. Of course not. This is pretty much a documentary. The dialog and narration is the movie! So it all comes down to one thing. Entertainment. Was I entertained? Yes. Yes I was. Even though it was a little fast for the information being presented... it was still entertaining. That's pretty cool when you stop and think about it. Although I had trouble keeping up with the narrative itself at times, I had a blast trying. I should also point out that more than a few scenes will stick with me. The currency conversion scene? I'll be talking about that around the water cooler. At the end of the day, the real beauty here is the ability this film has to explain some really tough ideas and concepts. In a very entertaining way. However, on the other hand, as soon as you start to get it, you're rocketed to the next concept or idea. Rinse and repeat. As I mentioned above, if you really want to learn a few things, watch this film in segments. Let the information sink in. If you just want to have a few chuckles you really can't go wrong either. A rock solid three and a half stars. For those in the political know, it's not hard to imagine another full star being added. |
