We’re taking the opportunity this week to take a quick peek back at our 2013 themes and pick out some films that were serious contenders but didn’t get the full BSMC treatment. We can only write about so many movies – but that doesn’t mean we don’t love ‘em all! Let’s kick it off with January’s theme – The First Time, which focused on debut features. – Eds.
Gimme the Loot
Although it’s not a great movie, Gimme the Loot is an exemplary first film. Shot on a shoestring budget, with amatuer actors, it’s a clumsy film with awkward timing and some pretty embarrassing line readings. But at its center is a great story that captures the nebulous unpredictability of being young, ambitious, and unchaperoned in the big city. In Gimme the Loot, writer/director Adam Leon showcases a light touch and unique point of view to make this film and (hopefully) Leon’s future films exciting entries into the canon of contemporary independent American cinema. -Sarah
The Cars That Ate Paris
Peter Weir is now a Hollywood go-to, but in 1974 he was a total weirdo, if his feature debut The Cars That Ate Paris is any indicator. Centered around a bush country town called Paris, where the main occupation is wrecking cars to profit from repairing them, the film is more or less a demolition derby. Dark, noisy, hilarious and thrillingly slapdash, The Cars That Ate Paris couldn’t be further from what followed for Weir – the transcendent, ethereally subtle Picnic At Hanging Rock. It’s a lot more fun. - Julia
Filed under: Overlooked, The First Time
