Of all the George Lucas films made in his early career as a USC student filmmaker, "Anyone Lived in a Pretty How Town" often receives the most flaque for reasons I do not understand. I was expecting much worse from this six-minute short, which other reviewers have criticized as being "going nowhere" in its premise and feeling pointless overall. From these remarks, I thought the film would have a story lacking plot development - the type of plot development that most expect from modern cinema - which it really didn't. As a whole, the feel of this brief film is much more about sentiment and artistry, having a focus that is more on a mix of good craft combined with a surrealistic narrative that is left to interpretation. Not something most audiences would appreciate I suppose, but it has a pleasant feel throughout with varying elements that I found quite interesting.
The short is based, somewhat, off of E. E. Cummings's poem of the same title, which after I read it, made less sense than Lucas's film. Both tend to have an emphasis on imagery - I particularly enjoyed the wonderful cinematography at the beginning and end, with the emphasis on man-made cities vs. Nature. As for the story, little happens in it apart from a photographer taking pictures of different people, then tearing them up whilst appearing and disappearing in different locations (as do his subjects). There is a couple consisting of a man and woman as well, who are frolicking in the woods and enjoying eachothers' company, before getting interrupted by the photographer. While not entirely fitting to the poem (which had no photographer at all) the sentiments of it are similar: man and woman, seasons, nature, etc, which are enhanced with a lovely musical track. A sentiment film few would understand, but I consider it quite artistic and pleasing, as well as being an interesting portrayal of a mostly non-narrative poem.
