This Week In Trailers: Little Boxes, Homesick New Orleans, Generation Iron 2, The Student, Burden
Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they're seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: What better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? This week we get some real friends, practice some performance art for funsies, visit The Big Easy, get swole, get a story from Russia that has nothing to do with Trump or Putin, and then get our diversity on in suburbia.The Student Trailer
Hell yeah.
I don't know what's afoot with director Kirill Serebrennikov's movie about a kid who seems to be struggling with something deeply troubling but I'm a fan of this trailer. Wonderfully edited and done in such a pace that it's almost a celestial joy to read its subtitles, it's hard to say what's more interesting: the story or the trailer.
Generation Iron 2 Trailer
Alright, wimps, fall into line.
I don't know why I enjoyed Vlad Yudin's first installment so much, or what part of my brain is tickled by understanding what pushes people to their physical limits, but I'm fascinated by people like this. Those who have the kind of drive many of us don't possess or have the inclination to ever turn our attention to are just bent on pushing their corporeal form to the absolute limit. The content is disposable but the lessons, I'm sure, are invaluable. Dedication, what it takes to win (or cheat), and the goods to match their mouths.
Little Boxes Trailer
Hmm?
I'm not sure I'm feeling what they're selling but director Rob Meyer's ode to multicultural suburbia is something of beauty. I've always enjoyed Melanie Lynskey's nuanced performances and this looks like it's another one to admire from afar. I'm not really sure if the tone is right but I'll be diving into this one for sure.
Burden Trailer
Here it is in a nutshell.
One of the things about art is that it's completely subjective. What directors Richard Dewey and Timothy Marrinan are doing here though, it seems like, helps contextualize what it means to be an artist trying to say something to the world. Yeah, you could say it's also subjective whether that commentary is worth the obnoxiousness but when a human being is communicating through stunts like this it's always cause to pause.
Homesick New Orleans Trailer
The essence of a place.
Too many times you see advertising for cities, states, towns that feel like you're getting the Kodak treatment of an area. Fake families and celebs who shamelessly shill to get me to spend my hard earned money on tourist traps and picturesque vistas that are only seem to be possible if you have an ad budget to make it all look glossy and tidy. This, then, is the antithesis of it. Director Rick Wayne has made this place, this city, feel more than just a place where a pack of photographers have descended with their gear. Narrated by John Goodman, this is how places of our great nation should be portrayed: honestly, raw, and with a little flavor in order to capture its essence. It's not a film, it's not a show, but it sure makes you want to take out your wallet to experience it.
Nota bene: If you have any suggestions of trailers to possibly be included in this column, even have a trailer of your own to pitch, please let me know by sending me a note at Christopher_Stipp@yahoo.com or look me up via Twitter at @Stipp
In case you missed them, here are the other trailers we covered at /Film this week: