Mur 19

Mark Rappaport's first film commences with Gerald Mur "studying the cinema" in the form of a blow-up glamor shot of Garb... (more)

Mark Rappaport's first film commences with Gerald Mur "studying the cinema" in the form of a blow-up glamor shot of Garbo. Then "the cinema" studies Gerald (from numerous angles) followed by a standoff as filmmaker and subject circle one another, dueling with cameras to determine who's watcher and who's watched.. Gerald's philosophical soundtrack musings ("People don't ask for beauty, they'll settle for less ugliness," "To live together destroys integrity") suggest a preference for the abstract over the intimate that's borne out when our protagonist finds a romantic interest (Teresa O'Connor). Yet in this chaptered black-and-white meditation on art and life, it's possible "true love" (should it exist outside the movies) might win out for the first and possibly the last time in this unique American independent oeuvre.. "A portrait film of a gawkily handsome man-contrasted with Garbo in the first shot, completely excised by the end, his spirit lingering in the melancholy that remains. The first Rappaport movie I've seen. Kind of like meeting someone who you hit it off with, but you feel somewhat cautious about because you're not quite sure why the rapport is working. Perhaps it's the price of being confronted with a wholly unique perspective-you're shaken so completely to the core that distrust bubbles up. Who is this person who's doing something in none of the ways I'm used to?" -Keith Uhlich. (less)