Sunset

I am inspired by several things with this movie. After looking at the director's profile, I discovered that he attended the North Carolina School of the Arts. I am very familiar with that school and the talent that comes from it and am inspired by how he and other filmmakers strive to make films on there own terms without waiting for Hollywood to beckon them.

I also notice a trend that this has with other films that come from the school, in the fact that they all seem very quiet, tone driven and visual. Some may call them arty, but I find them very moving and not pretentious.

Aspects of "Sunset," that moved me the most are the relationships between the characters; especially the one between Josie and her grandfather, who is struggling with Alzheimer's. I am very close to this subject and every scene in the movie that deals with it, reminded me of my own personal horrors with the issue. Yet even though it does hit very close to home for me, I like how the film chooses to handle the subject tenderly and in a delicate way, without over sentimentalizing it, hitting us over the head and/or doesn't exploit the illness for dramatic purposes. It is also this issue that helps me realize why the film has its title.

The score also touched me in this film and it did a great job at complimenting the "poetic" visuals. It's funny that the film deals with an artist and has so many nature shots in it; when Josie admits to liking Monet and impressionism, I immediately realized the point behind the many transition shots.

Very well, done from another member of what I believe is a new wave of great filmmakers (what do they feed those guys at that school?)