David Karr was the grandfather of film-maker Doug Karr; he was also found dead on the floor of his Paris apartment. To Doug he remains a mysterious figure where so many of the facts or stories seem to suggest something bigger in his grandfather's life, but yet at the same time almost too fantastic and with so much of the story not adding up or making sense. In this semi-documentary, semi-drama, our narrator takes us through 10 questions he would have for his grandfather were he still alive to answer them.
On the face of it this sounds like a rather dry film, one which is very personal to the director but perhaps may not fly to a wider audience. The sense of this happening is made greater by the news that it is a film without a lot of answers to the ten questions which it poses. On the contrary though, this is a really engaging film by virtue of its focus and the manner in which it is delivered. The ten questions may not give us answers, but by asking them we are filled in on why they are being asked; so for example we don't find out why he married so many times, but just that he did. This builds a mystery for the viewer that we then share with the narrator and our interest grows. Okay it is a downside that the answers do not come, but it does not reduce the intrigue one feels.
What adds greatly to this though is the delivery. The narrator moves through scenes and time. As he asks the questions we have characters, places and times come and go – some of them relate to the grandfather, while others are the responses of other family members as to why he is asking (in particular what I guess is a brother telling him to let it go). It is stylish and slick and the movement of the camera and narrator around the places gives the film a sense of movement and pace that helps draw the viewer in. The end result is a very enjoyable little short film which has a slickness to the presentation which aids the intrigue which the question structure builds so well.
