With all the great films opening in New York this weekend, the last thing one needs is yet another recommendation, but I wanted to take a second to put in a good word for a lovely, quiet, and poetic American Indie that's getting a week at the Anthology film archives starting today: Police Beat. Certainly I couldn't argue that its as accomplished as Three Times, and it doesn't come bearing the profile of the new Assayas, or Mr. Lazarescu--it's a whiff of a little movie, and intentionally so, and ends up all the more striking for its overall restraint. Built around the interior monologue of a Senegalese bike cop working in Seattle, the film paints a terrific picture of lovesickness, and the kind of enveloping obsession it can engender. By all means, see the three aforementioned films, but if you can, try and make it over to Anthology as well.

I caught this film at that walk-in cooler otherwise known as Anthology Film Archives this afternoon (brrrr!). Unfortunately, the viewing was tainted not only by the sub-zero temp, but also the atrocious and unforgivable video projection. I cannot believe how awful the film looked and sounded, and, in turn, the film suffers immensely. Perhaps I'm mistaken and Devor (dir) and Kirby (dp) intended for there to be a green mist obscuring each and every shot. Nowhere in AFA materials did it state that the film would be video projected, which is, in a word, bullshit.
In short, see "Police Beat", but just not yet. Wait for a proper theatrical run (yeah right) or (dare I say) a DVD release, because to see it now is to see it under conditions it could never have been intended.
P.S. - Fuck Anthology Film Archives!

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April 28, 2006