Camera

I just recently watched camera for the first time (there showing it on www.lovefilm.com for free).

What i gathered that this film somewhere along the line parallels with cronenberg's life (just speculation). Les carlson (the old man) seems to talk about the anxieties of not working and that the thoughts/dreams or physicality of the film world keeps him motivated and feeling less anxious. we also see the kids (these are the secondary subject, or maybe the primary)as they plod along setting up the camera but not in a childlike or juvenile way, they rig, set up the mixing boards, set the lights and rig the camera completely. Some thoughts on this subject made me think of the new generation of filmmakers Cronenberg has to encounter (he also could be calling new filmmakers 'Kids', but this illustrates a more profound answer - maybe they are not, and they are taking over). I mainly state this as the solution to the old man talking as the kids are setting everything up around him - he doesn't notice whats going on, he's to busy talking about his own problems and the fact that he is a retired actor.

you really have to watch the film to get what I mean.

It could also just be a fragment of cronenbergs sense of humour.

I hope more people watch this short film and offer their thoughts as to its subtext and maybe even symbolism.

While a veteran actor (Leslie Carlson) laments the state of film and film acting, a group of young children sneak a Panavision camera into the apartment where the actor resides and decide to make a film with it.

While I understand that the inspiration for this film comes from a childhood dream that Cronenberg had, I am not at all clear on why he apparently made it much later in life and threw it on as an extra for "Videodrome". But it is interesting to note that Cronenberg in 2000 is not the man he was in, say, 1980. He has increasingly moved away from experimental film and is today (2013) largely mainstream. This same film made in 1980 would have likely had a very different -- perhaps surgical -- feel to it.

What is the message (if there is one)? Hard to say. Clearly it is about youth, aging, death, and the world of film and photography. But how does the camera affect aging? The common belief seems to be that photos keep us young forever, but the man in this film says almost the exact opposite...

Camera is a surreal, at times impenetrable film following the attempt of a group of young children to make a short film with an elderly actor using an antique camera. In the process, they examine many of Cronenberg's typical themes, all without the use of body horror.

Or is it? In the end, the film deals with the ultimate transformation of the body, death. The actor's monologue deals with his aging and mortality, and the way that the camera catches past moments. In some respects, this is the ultimate body horror, a very real threat to all people.

Simultaneously, this short deals with some of Cronenberg's past themes regarding technology and in particular the visual image. To a certain extent, the film is a meditation on how cinema captures chunks of the past. This visual focus makes it a good complement to Videodrome. (Indeed, it is included on the Criterion Collection DVD of said film.)

As some reviewers have stated, this film does not really have a narrative and can be difficult to decipher. However, I think most people who are actually willing to seek this film out will be able to appreciate it.

This 6 minute short film directed by David Cronenberg, which can be viewed on the Criterion Collection 2-disc DVD of "Videodrome" has an elder actor (Genre great Leslie Carlson) coming to terms with his own waning mortality after a group of young children find an old Panavision camera and wish to film him with it. He goes into a monologue about how he distrusts this camera equating it with death. For some reason I felt it was Cronenberg himself trying to express his thoughts and fears. The short itself is a tad impenetrable and difficult to derive any specific meaning from and although I did think it was good. it's not one of his better works. Despite (or maybe because of) this short being so introspective) or perhaps I just wasn't used to this kind of work to come from David.

My Grade: C+

Camera (2000)

*** (out of 4)

An elderly actor (Leslie Carlson) is discussing cinema when some children enter his apartment with an old movie camera.

This six-minute short from David Cronenberg isn't the greatest thing that the director ever did but it is an interesting piece to his filmmography. I honestly can't say I know what the director was going for but it's got a rather surreal nature to where you're watching it, not knowing what it's trying to do yet when it's over you find yourself thinking more about it. Obviously morality is something I think plays a role in the film. The elderly man talks about getting old and how he once had a dream about growing older due to a camera. The lead performance by Carlson is very good and there's no question that he draws you into the material.