King of Herrings

I was lucky enough to see the screening of this film, and it was quite powerful. The script, the actors and their performances, the photography, and the locations were perfect. "King of Herrings" is quite simple, yet incredibly powerful and thought provoking, bringing you intimately into their world and lives for a few days. Shooting it in black and white was brilliant, keeping you involved in the characters, and the locations, without any distractions. I think everyone involved in creating "King of Herrings", are long time friends, and the relationships between the actors are very honest and real, making it feel like you are hanging out with a group of friends.. even saying "no, don't do that".. forgetting you are watching a film. It is very well written, making you laugh, think, and almost cry. That makes it a "10" for me!

The makers of this film suffered from many misunderstandings. To identify a few for them, filming in black and white doesn't make you an auteur (and it makes a plot mystifying when one character is referred to, for over an hour, simply as "the redhead"); casting character actors as leads doesn't always make them good enough to carry the larger role; long pauses in conversations do not make that conversation meaningful; and working without a script does not inspire brilliance. OK, I'm guessing on that last point, but it sure seems like no one knew their lines. Oh, and lens flare isn't an especially good look in black and white.

In sum, a pretentious, vapid, poorly constructed story.

King of Herrings is a wonderful film. It speaks to a way of life in New Orleans, to anyone who has lived with the same group of people for many years only to find you don't like them all, to anyone who has hoped for rescue only to find that they must rescue themselves.

When you look into the world of King of Herrings, you see characters that have fallen into painful rhythms, hurtful, manipulative relationships, and petty oneupmanship. And yet some of these beautifully rendered characters still strive to reach beyond the limits of their day to day existence and make good on their dreams.

The characters are each brought to life in performances that are visceral and truthful. Some content with their way of life an others hoping for a change that will make their life somehow better. The story follows the characters as they go about their lives over several days, and through events and interactions that will impact their lives going forward.

The actors have been friends for more that twenty years, and their on-screen chemistry comes from a genuine friendship and rapport. This charm is evident from the first frame and through to the end.

It is the winner of the Audience Favorite Narrative Film at the New Orleans Film Festival, and I was fortunate to have seen it there. I have to recommend this film to anyone who loves film.

Had the great opportunity to see a free viewing of this film at BRCC today after our closing ceremony for Art fest. We were also fortunate to meet the actors and production (skeleton) crew. I refer to skeleton because the crew conceited of 2 people. It was great to meet and ask a few question. They were very approachable and were happy to let us pick their brains about the film and what it took to produce. I found that the film gave a sense of familiarity; a feeling that one could connect with the characters and the dynamics of each of their relationships. By featuring the film in black and white I believe it brought another level of depth not only to the story line but also the backdrop.

First things first; admittedly, I am a producer, was first A.D. and had a small role in "King of Herrings." But even with all that good will towards the film, nothing could have prepared me for the two screenings with packed houses at The Prytania Theatre for the 2013 New Orleans Film Festival! Having seen the film many many times as we were working on it in post production, it was such a gift to be able to see it ANEW, through the audiences' eyes. They laughed, they loved, they hated, and some of them even cried. While watching the film with these audiences it was so apparent that they were hooked in, taking the ride, and that they loved it. Afterwards, they enthusiastically told us what they thought: "It's a quirky odd little film that's funny and packs an emotional wallop!" "It's refreshing to see a film that's really just about people...a character driven film with great dialog and stellar acting!" "Such reprehensible, yet human characters that we all actually care about and end up rooting for." These were all things I heard people say to us after the screenings...and so many other great things, that there is simply not room for here. Since we didn't really campaign to get people to vote for us, it came as a complete surprise to all of us when we won The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature! My feeling about how good the film is, has been validated on levels beyond my own expectations. Sincerely, John Mese