Benece Produccions
NEW YORK -- Marc Recha's August Days is a languorous meditation on the beauties of nature and the calming effects of free time, but those forced to sit in a darkened theater and watch it for 90 minutes are only likely to feel resentment at the reminder. While the film has its qualities, most notably the evocative cinematography of the beautiful Catalonia scenery, it is far too insubstantial to wander far outside the festival circuit. It was recently showcased at the New York Film Festival.
The impetus of this pseudo-documentary has to do with the filmmaker and his twin brother, David, embarking on a late-summer journey after the former becomes creatively stuck while working on a project about a recently deceased journalist friend.
They thus drive around the countryside, stopping at sites and having fleeting encounters with a variety of characters, including a friendly fellow tourist and a forest ranger. They also swim and fish in lakes, in mock pursuit of a mythological man-eating fish with whiskers whose possible presence is signaled by a foreboding, Jaws-like musical theme.
Mostly, though, there's an awful lot of driving around, making this an all too accurate road movie. Accompanied by a combination of a pop music score and occasional low-key narration by the two men's sister, the endless montages make for some seriously slow going.
There are hints of deeper themes scattered throughout, including references to the still-visible effects of the civil war and such visual motifs as the frequently repeated shots of a nuclear power plant. But all of this is handled in the most oblique fashion, with the net result being that August Days adds up to little more than a pretentious vacation video.
NEW YORK -- Marc Recha's August Days is a languorous meditation on the beauties of nature and the calming effects of free time, but those forced to sit in a darkened theater and watch it for 90 minutes are only likely to feel resentment at the reminder. While the film has its qualities, most notably the evocative cinematography of the beautiful Catalonia scenery, it is far too insubstantial to wander far outside the festival circuit. It was recently showcased at the New York Film Festival.
The impetus of this pseudo-documentary has to do with the filmmaker and his twin brother, David, embarking on a late-summer journey after the former becomes creatively stuck while working on a project about a recently deceased journalist friend.
They thus drive around the countryside, stopping at sites and having fleeting encounters with a variety of characters, including a friendly fellow tourist and a forest ranger. They also swim and fish in lakes, in mock pursuit of a mythological man-eating fish with whiskers whose possible presence is signaled by a foreboding, Jaws-like musical theme.
Mostly, though, there's an awful lot of driving around, making this an all too accurate road movie. Accompanied by a combination of a pop music score and occasional low-key narration by the two men's sister, the endless montages make for some seriously slow going.
There are hints of deeper themes scattered throughout, including references to the still-visible effects of the civil war and such visual motifs as the frequently repeated shots of a nuclear power plant. But all of this is handled in the most oblique fashion, with the net result being that August Days adds up to little more than a pretentious vacation video.
- 10/17/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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