Indie Watch
By Dan Krovich
July 11, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
VOD Pick of the Week
Open Five and Open Five 2 at NoBudge Films
NoBudge Films was founded by filmmaker Kentucker Audley to provide a platform for online film distribution for low budget independent film. While On Demand and online viewing services such as iTunes, Vudu, and Amazon provide an outlet for many independent films, there are still many other worthy films that do not receive even that level of distribution. NoBudge provides a curated selection of feature films, short films, and documentaries for free. In addition to a catalog of films in the permanent collection, the website also features special limited time screenings of films. Audley also makes his own films available at NoBudge, including Open Five and Open Five 2.
Open Five and its sequel are loosely structured dramas exploring the fluid nature of romantic relationships of twenty-somethings. The films are largely improvised and draw on real life experiences as Kentucker and co-star Jake Rabinbach play fictionalized versions of themselves. In Open Five, Jake has been splitting time between New York and Memphis while sort of seeing Lucy. Their relationship is somewhat nebulous. Are they dating or just fooling around? Are they exclusive? Are they going to try to make the long distance thing work?
When Lucy comes to visit Jake in Memphis, she brings her friend Rose. Jake was hoping for some alone time with Lucy, and Rose is a possible third wheel, but lucky for him Rose immediately hits it off with his best friend Kentucker. The couples have a weekend double date as they try to figure out where they stand with each other and what they want out of the relationships. Things are further complicated by the specter of exes that they may not quite be over. Open Five also exists as a love letter to the city of Memphis as the film takes place at many of the city’s famous landmarks, making it another character in the film.
Open Five 2 picks up some time later and further blurs the line between fiction and reality. It’s not exactly a sequel per se as the two films form more of a mobius strip. Again Kentucker and Jake play characters named Kentucker and Jake, however in this film these characters are the people who made Open Five instead of the characters in that first film. It’s a bit of a mind-bender when the premier of Open Five is part of the plot of Open Five 2. The device is subtle, but it does raise intriguing questions about the boundaries of fiction when making extremely personal films.
Open Five 2 focuses more on the on again off again relationship between Kentucker and Caroline (Caroline White, who played Kentucker’s ex-girlfriend in Open Five). The film begins with their relationship at a crossroads as she discovers that she is pregnant. While Open Five 2 still retains a loose structure, it feels more deliberate and more assured than the first film. It also feels extremely intimate and with the way it plays with levels of reality it can at times be a bit fascinatingly uncomfortable.
I recommend viewing the two films back to back as it does add to the experience, particularly as the second film folds back on the first. Since each film is just a little over an hour long, it is not too daunting of a task to watch them together. In addition, don’t forget to check out the other offerings at NoBudge.
NoBudge Films
Open Five
Open Five 2
New releases for July 12th
Fruitvale Station: Winning both the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at Sundance, Fruitvale Station was dubbed this year’s Beasts of the Southern Wild, the indie movie that could be a factor come Oscar nomination time. Based on a true story, Michael B. Jordan (The Wire, Friday Night Lights) plays Oscar Grant, a young man who was shot by transit police on New Year’s Day 2009. The film traces Oscar’s day leading up to the tragic incident.
The Hunt: Mads Mikkelsen, who has most recently been seen playing Dr. Hannibal Lecter on the television show Hannibal, won the Best Actor award at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival for his performance as a teacher whose life is destroyed by a lie. When a friend’s young daughter says that he exposed himself to her, the small community where he lives immediately deems him guilty and brands him a sex offender. The Hunt puts a spotlight on the damage that a false charge of child sexual abuse can have.
Killing Season: The Killing Season was able to bag two big stars as Robert DeNiro and John Travolta play two veterans of the Bosnian War. DeNiro plays Ford, an American soldier who fought on the front lines while Travolta plays Kovac who fought in the Serbian army. Twenty years later, Ford has retreated to a remote cabin in the Rocky Mountains, trying to forget the painful memories of the war. When Kovacs shows up looking for revenge, the two men are pitted against each other in their own personal war against the forbidding wilderness.
Available at Vudu
V/H/S/2: The omnibus horror film returns with a mostly new set of directors contributing (only Adam Wingard returns from V/H/S). The sequel includes contributions from Eduardo Sanchez (The Blair Witch Project), Gareth Evans (The Raid), and Jason Eisener (Hobo with a Shotgun).
Available at Amazon
Available at iTunes
Available at Vudu