:
Jack Angstreich,
Jack Angstreich,
Roberta Hill,
more...
:
Stephen Kijak,
Angela Christleib,
Angela Christlieb,
more...
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Winsor
: Documentary
: 80 min.
: English
see additional details...
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Angela Christlieb and Stephen Kijak direct the documentary Cinemania, concerning five individual New Yorkers with self-styled movie obsessions that border on the psychotic. Living on disability is Eric Chadbourne, who is an obsessive collector as well as viewer; Harvey Schwartz, who has memorized countless amounts factual data like movie running times; and Roberta Hill, who is such an aggressive audience member that she has been kicked out of several theaters. Unemployed and living in denial, Bill Heidbreder is into European art films to a serious degree, while the somewhat self-aware Jack Angstreich lives off of an inheritance and claims to keep a schedule of watching five movies a day. The conclusion appropriately features the five subjects screening a rough cut of the documentary and offering their comments. Shot on digital video, Cinemania contains a cinema-themed soundtrack provided by witty French indie pop band Stereo Total. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
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| You thought you were a film geek...
by underdog
March 1, 2004 - 4:39 PM PST
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6 out of 6 members found this review helpful
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Engrossing, if a bit sad, documentary about five extremely film-obsessed New Yorkers (the perfect place for them). If you've ever worked at a film festival, you already know these types of people -- obsessed over film's running times and meticulous projection, going to film festivals over having a job. Some have criticized the film for not giving enough perspective beyond the subjects themselves, as well as for having a slightly mocking attitude about them. I'm not sure this is quite fair, as the doc does a good job making us understand and empathize with people who we'd otherwise normally see as being on the fringes, whom we might ignore or deride if we encountered them in real life. Even better is the bemused perspective they have about themselves -- making you realize they're not as much crazy as just... a bit obsessive-compulsive. It is admittedly a bit of a relief when the filmmakers intersplice interviews with more "normal" people, like the bemused film festival programmer or the harrassed MOMA ticket taker. I found four out of five of them (with the exception of Roberta, who is more of an extreme and sad case; just ask the MOMA ticket taker) rather endearing. It's hard not to be amused by the Francophile Bill's desperate quest to find a French wife, so he can live in France, or his money-saving habits (which make one worry for his health, too), or by Jack gearing his dietary habits and schedules to decrease the likelihood of needing a bathroom break during a screening. Frankly, we have met these people, and they are us. Only more extreme.
The film looks good, too, and boasts a nice music score featuring pieces by StereoTotal. It's just the right length; given the rather pathetic nature of its subject's lives, any more time with them might be a bit too much. But, as you will see from the film's final, slightly "meta," scene, the subjects themselves approve. And why shouldn't they? Their fantasies of being on a movie screen are, at long last, fulfilled. Not super-deep, but enjoyable nonetheless. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.82)
39 Votes
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