Bright Lights, Nothing's Alright

[Trucci]

A narcoleptic from the United States exposes his new life in rural China as an English teacher.
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Behind the Scenes:
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[Noel Evans]

Interesting. Look forward to watching.

[Chris_Keaton]

Welcome to the mess, jump right in.

[Charli]

Looking forward to seeing some grabs from China. Good luck!

[Chris Messineo]

China - how cool.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Congrats on the upload!

[Noel Evans]

Trucci, just in case you missed it - check your personal messages - awaiting your response :)

[Trucci]

Don't know if you got my PM, but the BTS video is up now in this thread. Thanks for the heads up.

[Zach Olson]

Having spent time in China myself as an English teacher (but not a narcoleptic!) from the United States I am really looking forward to seeing this!

[Noel Evans]

Really liked the feel of the location. I think you got across some of the day to day things you guys face well. (Former resident of Tokyo, I can relate to some of them).

[Alan H. Chang]

:) Were you in Beijing for this?

[Chris Messineo]

I really loved the opening of the movie - the idea of being a foreigner with everyday struggles compounded with narcolepsy is really interesting. Then it got even more interesting in the middle with the girl-friend.

But then, for some reason, it felt like you abandoned those story-lines in the ending. It ended up feeling more like a funky travel documentary than a traditional story with a character arc and I was really intrigued by that character.

In any case, I love stories about foreigners in strange lands and I hope you continue to explore these kinds of situations.

[Chris_Keaton]

I agree with Chris M. on this one. It started out good and then just stopped. Real nice location, I bet no one knows you shot that in Cleveland.

[randin]

Yep, I loved the opening and in general love seeing a nice character study rather than the normal big dramas. It did however seem like it lost its way. I was waiting for him to fall asleep on his date or something, but it was like the narcolepsy was the opening joke and that was it. Anyway, I liked it, gave it high marks and would like to see more.

[Trucci]

Thanks for the comments and constructive criticism. This was shot in Taigu, China which is in Shanxi Province. It's basically a farm town with a University. Chris: Funny you mention Cleveland since the writer and main actor both went to Oberlin University. We've actually had some debate whether the character actually had insomnia, but it wasn't clear since he had symptoms of both haha.

[Matt Harris]

This was wild, it came off very honest, i dug it. Great locations of course, interesting lead, and some clever voice over.
I think it could have been more focused to follow the narcolepsy plot that you set up in the beginning, but i took it all in as a
a pseudo fish out of water concept. I think you should do more stuff with this character, just tighten up the story elements a touch.

[ZazaCast]

Somehow, I feel this is the story of your life as it is today...not fiction. Really liked the opening and the title treament, but like others have said it lost steam as it progressed.
I found myself waiting for him to fall asleep more often and at the most inconvienent times. Seems he was just tired because of the trains and lack of sleep.
I grew-up with train tracks not even 75 yards from the house and when I moved away, I could sleep...it was too quiet and nothing shaked!
Yes, the story needed a little work, but great job on the camera work, editing and music. Congratulations for getting a film made...and having some fun doing it.

[maranfilms]

where can I see the film?

[Charli]

You had a tremendous amount of locations, most so far I think of all the films I saw. I do like the "slice of life" storyline, but I too felt you lost your way. Still I give props in engaging us into the guy's life. I don't like voice overs much, but this one was okay. I would have liked more layers. More meat to the story. For the story to stay on track as well. I give you props for locations.

[EditPhish]

I really loved the opening of the movie - the idea of being a foreigner with everyday struggles compounded with narcolepsy is really interesting. Then it got even more interesting in the middle with the girl-friend.

But then, for some reason, it felt like you abandoned those story-lines in the ending. It ended up feeling more like a funky travel documentary than a traditional story with a character arc and I was really intrigued by that character..

Chris actually said it really way... and I couldn't agree more.

My criticisms: Technically, I found the dialog a little hard to hear in some spots.
And it felt like two films. It started off SO strong... I was so intrigued on how it would play out. But then it completely fell flat and turned into somewhat of a boring story of just some guy who sleeps a lot making his way around town. The whole film started with a great idea that didn't end living up to it's potential.

My compliments: I really enjoyed your cinematography and the music felt perfect for the overall mood of what the film could have been. Some of the shots, especially at the beginning, were amazing. The problem with the positive stuff is that it just ended up reminding me of what a huge amount of potential your film had but didn't reach. If I saw the first minute of the film as somewhat of a "preview" for more to come I'd go see this film in a heartbeat. Almost like "Lars and the Real Girl" it could have had that bizarre "you can't make this stuff up" kind of feel that would have been awesome.

I know my compliments don't sound like compliments... but really they're meant to be... Even though what you did wrong took away from the overall experience of the film, looking at what you did right makes me think you could have ended up with something really amazing. I'm not sure where it fell down, but worth thinking about... because you ARE obviously talented.

[Shawn Philip Nelson]

I'd agree with the upper posters, i really liked the first part and wish you'd stayed more in that tone.

Very well done, really great shooting, pretty much every shot was interesting. im so glad we have quite a few internationally shot entries this time around!

[Hitaish]

I really enjoyed this film. It felt like a documentary about your life in rural China. The outdoor scenes looked great and the cultural nuances are captured in a funny, charming manner. I liked the voice over acting. However I was left waiting for the "twist" in the end (or maybe I totally missed it).

All in all, I liked it a lot!

[Hawk Teflon]

I LOVE the location for this! Awesome! I, too, felt it had two completely different stories mixed up, though. I would like to have seen the narcolepsy coming into play more at the end.

[lyonfilms]

Started strong and then fizzled a bit. Sticking with the quirky character with narcolepsy through to the end would have worked better for me. Seemed to get a little muddled. That being said, good composition. Great location. Interesting fish out of water concept.

[Michael Anthony Horrigan]

Interesting look at life in China. Even though it was a fictional life. :)
I loved much of what you did here. Pacing could be sped up a little but I liked the variety of characters.
Really nice framing and shot selection.

The landscape was excellent. Gave it a high production value.
Kudos on getting this done.

[4100xpb]

Finally getting to my reviews.

This was cute. It had some really nice shots, and it was very cool seeing something shot in China. But once that novelty wore off, I felt the story was kind of thin. Guy has narcalepsy, meets girl, blows her off, and nothing changes. Where were the obstacles, the overcoming, what changed for him in the end? Some nice shots, and gorgeous locations. The character was interesting, I’d just like to see a stronger story backing it all up.

[Susanne G.]

I love the mood of the film. I felt so much with the actor - poor 'Harry Potter'! Even if the film was a sketch, without a real beginning and end, I enjoyed it very much. Very sweet. Compliments!

Susanne

[Anthony Todaro]

Heavy on charm, light on story. So what, I felt good watching this. Has a French New Wave vibe to it. I love quark and charm.
I see the suggestions, but I think going with less structure would actually yield some interesting results with you.
You have an obvious knack for improv in performance and locale with little structure. I love that style of filmmaking.
Harmony Korine and Goddard come to mind. Fun film. Hope to see more work from you.

[Noel Evans]

You should probably look here - some prizes coming your way :)

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?241984-FictionFEST-PRIZES&p=2297361&viewfull=1#post2297361

[Trucci]

Thanks everyone once again for your honest feedback (more valuable than anything really). This definitely has encouraged me to do future projects and I'll make sure to apply the knowledge I get from the prize DVDs in my next film.

[David Jimerson]

Shipped today! Congrats!