Review of The Nomi Song (2004) by Ben W — 06 May 2005

Wow, looks like reviews are looking very gray as of late...anyway...

[b]Rififi[/b] - Heard it was a cool film-noir, and it was. Not an amazing stand-out piece, but a fun one nonetheless.

[b]Primer[/b] - Carruth did a lot with the tiny little $7,500 budget of his. He proves that its not about money, its about devotion. Good style, but it requires repeat viewings which I didn't partake in, sadly. Ultimately about greed, yet in the moment about being able to pay attention and know what they're saying, Primer is, or at least, would be, a mind-blowing film. That is if you can grasp your hands around it.

[b]The Nomi Song[/b] - A well-done doc on Klaus Nomi, a big influence on the New Wave of the 80s and a big mystery. He's probably one of the strangest people that has ever been documented on film, but otherwise, this doc does well with its material (which is just interesting by itself). The direction fits the strangeness of its subject with cuts that seemingly come out of nowhere and some weird interview styles. Overall, a really interesting movie.

[b]Intimate Stories[/b] - A sweet little story. Nothing amazing or astounding here, just intersecting stories about three people---an old man who just wants his dog (who left some years earlier) back, a salesman with a dull life looking for love with a widowed mother, and a single mother competing for a trip on TV. Too widely appealing for anyone to be disappointed.

[b]Nobody Knows[/b] - A sad tale of four children who have to strive to live in Japan without a mother or father. Though it may be sad and depressing to some, its a very touching film. And this is by no means a short film, running at about 2 hrs and 20 mins, this film makes you feel apart of their segmented family. They're taken care of by their oldest brother, played by Yagira Yuya (who won the Best Actor award when it premiered at Cannes), and he does one of the best child-acting jobs I've seen in a long while. Go see it now.