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SLAMDANCE 2024: LOVE AND WORK (2024)

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DIRECTED BY: Peter Ohs

FEATURING: Stephanie Hunt, Will Madden,

PLOT: Diane and Fox love to work, a banned practice which may land them in “Time Out,” but this does not thwart their pursuit of productivity.

WHY IT MIGHT MAKE THE APOCRYPHA: Quirky black and white dystopian rom-com: sure, we can dig it. But Love and Work‘s particular breed of social commentary is unlike any other I’ve encountered.

COMMENTS: Diane and Fox extol the virtues of The Weekend, without fully grasping just what it is; but in their gut they know The Weekend is good, and that it is good only because of what comes before. Their former boss, still recovering from a stint in Time Out and a close run-in with the Reminders after trying to recreate the workplace, seeks answers from them as they stand on a street corner holding inspirational placards.

It’s better than a hobby. It’s better than a job. It’s The Weekend.

“What’s ‘The Weekend’?”

The answer to all your troubles.

Peter Ohs’ Love and Work is among the breeziest of bleak future visions put to screen. In this world, jobs are outlawed—a mandate enforced, free of charge, by busy-bodies whose only qualification is having memorized every governmental ordinance.

An underground network has grown among those who wish to work, employing coded language to dodge the Reminders who would put them in Time Out (a much-dreaded punishment, though not quite so bad as “The Relaxation Room”). In the foreground are Diane and Fox, two rebels who crave supervision, productivity, and shifts as long as possible.

Will Madden’s gangly Bob Fox attempts to woo Stephanie Hunt’s tight-lipped Diane. Love and Work efficiently pushes romantic comedy tropes to their extreme to bring this pair of ambitious workers together, instilling a level of awareness generally lacking in the hobby-filled, run-down town in which they’re stuck in. A previous boss winces as he shows them the ukulele he’s been doomed to play, and a former co-worker stealthily knits a sweater whilst lurking in a back alley after a crack-down on a job site.

It’s all rather silly, and delightfully so. But it serves a purpose. Loath though I am to phrase it this way, Love and Work is a manifesto, and Ohs and his team have an agenda. The scenario could have been a hyper-capitalist dream: “See? People want to work! They long for it!”; alternately, it could have been some wispy musing on the evils of forced productivity. To my surprise and palpable relief, it turned out to be neither. Love and Work is a fun, oddball little comedy, passing along to the viewer a message of hope: hope for a sensible world, where everyone can truly enjoy The Weekend.

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:

“Even the character’s speech feels unnatural and broken, almost a cross between a Yorgos Lathimos screenplay and kids trying to sound like adults. The tone of the dialogue works perfectly in tandem with the setting to create the feeling of peeking in on a surreal, alternate universe.”–Elle Cowley, Slug Mag (festival screening)

Interviews

WINNIPEG LEGEND JOHN PAIZS CHATS WITH 366

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Director , best known for his Canadian cult comedy Crime Wave (in which a silent screenwriter played by the director struggles to pen the ultimate “colour crime” movie in his quest to reach “the Top!”), graciously agreed to answer some questions for 366 Weird Movies about his homegrown Winnipeg masterpiece and other topics.

Questions from Gregory J. Smalley:

You, , and now are all Winnipeg natives, and all of you make movies that reinvent the styles of older films, with nostalgic irony but also genuine appreciation. Can we say there’s an actual “Winnipeg school” of filmmaking? If so, what brought this style about—is there something in the water in Winnipeg?

That’s a good question. Yes, it does appear to have become something of a thing regarding Winnipeg, this particular style of filmmaking. As for what brought it about, if not something in the water (which is an entirely reasonable supposition!), my next best guess would be possibly something to do with our winters. Have you ever spent a winter in Winnipeg? Though now thanks to climate change, this may never be provable, unfortunately!

What are “colour crime movies” in Crime Wave’s world? Any real-life examples of the genre you were thinking of?

Crime Wave (1985)
Behind-the-scenes photo from Crime Wave, courtesy John Paizs

The colour crime movie was simply the kind of movie that Crime Wave’s movie-maker protagonist, Steven Penny, aspired to make. Inspired by classic-era “noirs” movies, his idea was to reinvent them—supercharge them if you will—and all importantly, add colour! They were to be in colour, unlike almost all the real-life examples of the genre of course. As for any I may have been thinking of myself, none specifically. Though just last year I happened to catch one that if I had seen it back when I was first cooking up Crime Wave may very well have become key to my own inspiration. And its poster actually, coincidentally, hangs in Steven Penny’s apartment over the garage in Crime Wave! It’s a punchy little noir from 1955 called Hell’s Island. It’s packed with all the clichés of the genre, which of course we all love, and, very rare for a classic-era noir (and probably a lot closer to nonexistent at this one’s obviously a lot closer to nonexistent budget level), it’s in colour!

The protagonist of Crime Wave, Steven Penny, has no trouble writing the beginnings and endings of screenplays, but struggles with middles. So of course the obvious question is, is this an autobiographical comment?

In terms of screenplays in their totality—not just struggling with middles!—yes, very much an autobiographical comment. In fact completely. Just prior to writing Crime Wave I’d written a handful of feature-length screenplays, all of which did not work out for one reason or another. And on the night that I was sitting at my kitchen Continue reading WINNIPEG LEGEND JOHN PAIZS CHATS WITH 366 →

Miscellanea

ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY 27TH ANNUAL AWARDS (2023) (WITH OUR VOTES)

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The Online Film Critics Society awards for 2023 are in the books. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Oppenheimer, an epic biopic from a major director, dominated the results—although I admit I am surprised at how thoroughly it nuked the competition. Weird movies did earn a lot of nominations this year—Poor Things earned 11, Asteroid City 4, and The Boy and the Heron 1—but took home no prizes. (Poor Things getting totally blanked surprised me; hopefully, Oscar voters will be more generous.)

As always, despite the occasional levity in my tone, I take my voting responsibility seriously. I do not put forward weird films at the expense of worthier mainstream candidates just because it’s “my thing.” Here is the list of this year’s winners, along with my choices and a touch of personal commentary.

BEST PICTURE

Oppenheimer posterWinner: Oppenheimer

Also nominated (listed ranked in order of votes): Killers of the Flower Moon, The Holdovers, Poor Things, Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, Past Lives, May December, Asteroid City, The Zone of Interest

My vote: Poor Things

Comments: Overall, Poor Things was the best movie of the year; groundbreakingly original, yet with a traditionally structured, if outlandish, plot that makes it accessible to the average cinemagoer. Incredible dialogue, luscious sets, and an iconic performance from Emma Stone (with two awards-caliber supporting roles from and ) make it 2023’s outstanding achievement in cinema. I personally ranked Oppenheimer third on my ballot; well-made, but too conventional to earn a higher vote. I didn’t see ‘s late-arriving Zone of Interest, and judging from its tenth place finish, a lot of voters were in the same boat.

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

Winner: Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse

Also nominated (in alphabetical order): The Boy and the Heron, Nimona, Robot Dreams, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

My vote: Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse

Comments: It was a tight call (and a tight race) between the massive Spider-Man and ‘s latest fable. Miyazaki’s handmade charm was tempting, but ultimately the Hollywood production was just too overwhelming; it brought abstract and experimental animation—incorporating multiple sub-universes as drawn by Chagall or Continue reading ONLINE FILM CRITICS SOCIETY 27TH ANNUAL AWARDS (2023) (WITH OUR VOTES) →

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SLAMDANCE 2024: THE COMPLEX FORMS (2024)

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DIRECTED BY: Fabio D’Orta

FEATURING: David White, Michele Venni, Cesare Bonomelli, Enzo Solazzi

PLOT: An out of work cook needs cash, and a mysterious organization can provide it, so long as he is willing to undergo temporary possession.

WHY IT MIGHT MAKE THE APOCRYPHA: D’Orta’s background in commercials, music videos, and set design is on display here—in a mighty fine way, to be sure. And while there are plenty of odd flourishes, ornate screen compositions, and the noodle-scratching premise itself, the “entities,” and their grand bejeweled appearance, is what delightfully seared my mind.

COMMENTS: There is a villa deep in the Italian countryside, and every so often a shining black Mercedes saloon pulls up to deliver a new occupant. This guest is, invariably, a middle-aged man with scant prospects and no family to speak of—but in good health. The management prefers the men be hard-up loners; the “clientele” prefer them healthy.

My thoughts on art house films would be more positive if there were more art house paranormal thrillers. The Complex Forms is among the few of those. (I’d be interested to hear further recommendations in the comments.) The action takes place in a hotel that looks plucked straight out of Marienbad, with officious, cryptic—and friendly—staff. We are often assured that, once an occupant leaves, “He’s fine. He’s left the villa. Nothing to worry about. Go back to your rooms.” While this would be unconvincing on its own, it’s typically intoned after a dramatic visitation from the beings who occupy the woods surrounding the lushly appointed edifice.

D’Orta’s film is an always beautiful, often menacing, and occasionally puzzling examination of angst, ritual, and time, done up in the guise of a horror film that occasionally borders on creature feature. The rote choreography of the dispirited guests, whether synchronicly mopping or dining in isolated assembly, lends a monastic quality to the film, while the protagonist’s occasional nightmares and growing fear spike the proceedings like a thumbtack jabbed, ever so slightly, under the fingernail.

And then, as I’ve mentioned, there are those sylvan forms. Are they are what the title refers to? Probably yes; but, the film does kick off with the main character filling in an exhaustive survey before traveling to the villa. No matter. D’Orta has crafted a playful and enigmatic debut, whose slick looks and cheeky musical cues meld perfectly with the heavy melodrama of the narrative. And in addition, he does us the favor of serving up many memorable, majestic monsters.

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