Strawberry Mansion

If you prefer imagination over spectacle, story over CGI, and heart over the sameness and blandness of many movies being released today then this film is for you.

The production value isn't top notch but the story and ideas are original, inventive and exciting. This film percolates in your mind long after viewing.

It's an enjoyable and satisfying journey which I'm sure to take again and again through repeated viewings.

Strawberry Mansion isn't perfect, but I have a distinct sense if people understood what it took to deliver the mind-warping visuals delivered thorughout, people would have a lot more respect for it.

This movie appears to be shot in 16mm. In reality, it's a digital film, incorporating stop motion animation, CGI, live action and animation as part of a coherent whole, which was then 'filmed out'' to 16mm. There are only three film labs in the U. S. that can process 16mm film-outs. In the case of Strawberry Mansion, the aspect ratios don't match up, and so the film's original widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio had to be squeezed into the 4:3 aspect ratio of 16mm.

This warps the image but offers the desired grain that Birney and Audley were after. Then the film was printed onto 400-foot reels of roughly 10 minutes and 40 seconds each. The film reels are scanned digitally, and then, reversing the squeezing formula, the image is stretched back out to 16:9, eliminating the warped look, but including all that desired film grain. Strawberry Mansion used 7203 Kodak 50D film stock for its film-out.

Why does it matter you ask? Because the script that accompanies it is the stuff of dreams, and if a Gaspar Noe or a Lynch had delivered this, it would be deemed a box office success (sadly, Strawberry Mansion didn't do so well).

The acting is on point, and while it's true that at time you can 'see through' some of the magic which kills the initial immersion, it's still a marvel of dedicated filmmaking with a very strong main arc, an insightful foray into a future dystopia and a bloody good representation of the human psyche viewed through a dream.

Yes, it's a hard sell, but I admire the Directors for bringing this to life, as it's easily a 20m $ concept shot on a shoestring budget with amazing results. It may not cut as deep as some indy marvels out there, but as a friend recommended me the other day, why constantly give movies on imdb 1 or 10s? Strawberry Mansion confortably sits at a 7, and with a little bit more cash, could have easily pulled an 8.5.

A must watch for any movie lover, or anyone who still have that child-like appreciation for magic, but don't want to be spoon fed a Disney (tm) milquetoast production.

This movie reminded me of an episode of The Mighty boosh, if directed by Wes Anderson.

The main character in this movie, I thought was Julian Barrett Howard moon in the Mighty Boosh but it turns out it just looks a lot like him.

I enjoy The Whimsy and creativity of the film, that's what I most will take away. But I don't like was the style of surreal acting, it was very reminiscent of the movie the room with Tommy Wiseau-- just not my cup of tea.

This movie demonstrates creativity on a shoestring budget, a cool concept, but something overall was lacking. It just doesn't have the emotional connection or wow factor of a Wizard of Oz or a Pan's Labyrinth.

If anything, this movie will inspire writers and low budget directors to challenge themselves making a cool concept, low budget film.

Give it a try, it's better than half the movies coming out in cinema these days, I wish this had show at my local Cinemas. Decent acting and good comedy.

I loved this movie! The aesthetic is very pretty, I got a bit Wes Anderson-, "The adventures of Baron Munchhausen"-, and Terry Gilliam-vibes from it.

The plot is very interesting. I don't understand the people here that says it doesn't make sense. Yes, it's surreal and the weirdness factor is through the roof, which probably is what confuses them. But I love weird and surreal movies that isn't obvious in any way. I hate being spoon fed what a movie is about (which is probably why I hate new and modern films). I like there to be shrouded parts you really have to think about, and movies you might have to see more than one or two times to get the full picture. Strawberry Mansion is just like that!

It's obvious it is on an bit of a budget, but I think that only adds to the charm. The length was good, but maybe they could've tightened the entire thing up a little bit.

To me it is a good sign when the reviews of a movie is either from people who loved it or from people who hated it, and almost no one that was just "Eh...". To me that is a sure sign the movie is interesting and worth a watch.

Anyway...I loved it and I'll definitely see it several times again!