interesting mood/vibe this movie gives
it's funny how subsequent viewings offer renewed interest in certain films. this film is one of those, for me
i first saw it back when the dvd was released in the usa, around 2005 i think. i saw the trailed on a different dvd the week before, so next trip i rented this dvd. my original impression was blah, nothing great. i saw it once and never planned to see it twice.
but lately kinky boots has been playing on the channels here, so i have caught it a few times in the past month or so. upon rewatching (casually) i have picked up on some vibes which didn't hit me the first time around:
i like the existential, "end of an era" movies. this is definitely one but with that typical 'happy ending all-is-well' tone to it. but, excusing the happy ending element i still find a lot of existential elements in this film, existential items which appeal to me. (the factory town, generations adjusting and moving forward with 'change', evolving times, memories/loss of bygone eras, nostalgia, etc etc)
but for me the movie holds a DOUBLE existentialism: it reminds me of the decline in 'moviedom' in recent years.
movies have changed a lot. delivery methods have come and gone. as a result the TYPE of movies being made, has morphed. (the video rental store where i first rented this dvd closed in july 2010) .....we still see small scale niche films such as this, true, but not as much, and not with as much--- hmmm, help me out here... not as much 'foothold' as they had ten years ago. (or, legitimization, or market share. or credence?)
seems to me MUCH of the whole film game has been marginalized by the facebook/twitter/youtube/videoGame/etc culture that has EXPLODED since 2005. most folks, it seems, are more intersted in posting pics of lunch than engrossing in a well made indie flick.
yes, this film was RIGHT AT THE PRECIPICE of the changes in filmdom. our viewing habits, methods, tastes, even viewing desire itself, all changed right around that time.
so, again, this film kindof holds a sort of an 'echo' in that it bears a double 'dying era' connotation. first, the small town shoe factory, and second, the decline of the indie film explosion of the 1990s
okay there, that's all i wanted to say.
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Freeze, sucka! Put down the mayonnaise, slowly.