Review of Ballast (2008) by Yama R — 27 Feb 2010

I don't buy it. A few decent moments here, but they are drowned in a sea of endlessly stretching shots of blank faces and still figures. As though the filmmakers believe that the formula is: realistic filmmaking = dull/uneventful filmmaking.

I disagree. Dullness for the sake of dullness is no better than pandering for the sake of pandering. With films, we have the ability to boil the stuff of our lives down in order to try and make some sense of them.

There is no shame in using this ability, nor glory in refusing to. Otherwise, all security camera footage ever taken would constitute brilliant filmmaking.