DESIDERATUM - A Film By Ben Sliker

you fooled me with this story. i liked it though. i loved the shots you pulled off. really well done.

acting- maybe this is where i was kinda thrown? the man didn't portray too much panic , or anything, true, this is who is he is maybe but i found him hard to relate to. the woman did a much better job but maybe not enough for my liking either. that said they took on tough roles and were fine, i'm just being picky.

really interesting film- before the reveal it just seemed so creepy in a way. it had a creepy kind of undercurrent. . like in the body snatchers kinda way almost. maybe it was too sci fi or something, i'm going to watch it again later...

in any case - really good job!
 
Ben,

Having seen a rough cut, and reading the script I knew a lot going into this, however, the final short really stands above the previously mentioned things...

My ONLY critique is that I felt sometimes the actors said their lines in a veiled way... like it felt like they were hiding something from us... not being transparent and real... it is probably very subtle and most people won't pick up on that, and it may be because I had read the script beforehand... I don't know...

otherwise, it looked great, loved the structure! This is your most heartfelt work yet!
 
Have watching other of your last works, I was completely surprised about this one. I didn't expected this lovely touching film. The film has a sensitive mood, the acting was great, score and cinematography as well. I loved the detail when she was in the bathroom and you can see the doorknob - beautiful cinematography. The only thing which wasn't clear at the beginning, was the syringe - I thought first that she is addicted to drugs. So I got it only more or less in the middle of the film. Maybe you wanted this irritation!?
Overall a very enjoyable film. Compliments!

Susanne
 
Hey, guys. Watched this the other night.

While I really liked this movie I felt that you didn't need to try and trick the audience. I almost felt that if you had been upfront from the start that this movie could have been even more powerful and raw. Not that it isn't, it just seemed very misleading, in a forced way, if that makes any sense. Also, the amount of blood you used probably would have called for immediate medical attention. :)

I also felt that the adoption at the end seemed a bit tacked on. Probably due to the time limit though. If you had an extra minute or so there I think it would work much better.

Now, as for the rest, I really liked it. Joe did a great job on this one. I really enjoy his style.
One thing I did notice near the beginning was a spot in front of the office door when they walk in. Around the 1:30 mark. It's there in front of the entire even after the door opens. What is that? It's not a knock against the film, I'm just curious as to what it is.

This film was very touching and I really liked seeing that from you guys. It's nice to go in a different direction and try new things. Very nice work. You should all pat yourselves on the back for another solid entry.

MAH
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
One thing I did notice near the beginning was a spot in front of the office door when they walk in. Around the 1:30 mark. It's there in front of the entire even after the door opens. What is that? It's not a knock against the film, I'm just curious as to what it is.


MAH
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That is a window frame, we're outside with the camera.

Thanks for the lovely comments.

-Joe
 
Ben.. I enjoyed your film. Definitely one of my favs of the fest. It took me a while to see what was happening, but I finally figured it out.

kudos man.
/j
 
~jai~ said:
I would have liked more oomph in the dining room scene and in the bathroom I would have liked a little more panic or concern from him.
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hoz said:
acting- maybe this is where i was kinda thrown? the man didn't portray too much panic , or anything, true, this is who is he is maybe but i found him hard to relate to. the woman did a much better job but maybe not enough for my liking either. that said they took on tough roles and were fine, i'm just being picky.
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hey guys, thanks for the comment/criticism: here's a little trip into the director's brain as far as David's reaction goes, because I did consider the option of a more panicked scene, but here's what I went with:

Why we chose to not have David "panic" in the bathroom - I really boned up and did my research on the emotions that one feels during the course of these events and created the emotions for the character from the ground up. It's not something a lot of people like to talk about, but if you were to ask 10 friends/family, I bet 9 of them have had something like this happen or know someone who it has.

That being said, this entire story takes place over a LONG time, think over a year, perhaps longer that they've been trying to have a child. It has obviously started to wear on both of them, on Elizabeth more than David. So, when they do become pregnant, it's a very scary situation for them, like it's their only chance to get it right. But at the same time, these are people who know the risks of what they are trying, they've had doctor's tell them the risks, etc.

When David comes through the door and hears the thud, he is obviously concerned, i think there are few other times when a thud in your house would send you running to see what happened. The worst possible situation is already running through his head.

So, when he enters the bathroom, i think the panic of the situation has already passed, and the reality of his worst concern has already set in. This is his time to be disappointed, if only for just a few moments before he rushes over to comfort his wife. And although a situation where blood loss is an issue, the emotional trauma of this situation supersedes the physical damage in the immediate. He must be the man at this point, tell his wife it's going to be okay over and over when it's really not, not someone who panics and frets, not knowing what to do.

Although it's a shot that lasts a little over 2 seconds, I feel that a realistic portrayal of a man trying to process what he has seen came through.
 
Great thought process Ben... it completely makes sense, and I felt the intimacy, and comfort he gave her there.
 
yeah, i didn't have a problem with his choices in that scene. considering what they were going thru, as a husband, he would have run this scenario in his mind a few times in his head during the preceding months. he'd be prepared (to the extent one can be) for this outcome. I think being shocked and panicked would have been the superficial, ramp-up-the-drama, less realistic choice.
 
Zak Forsman said:
yeah, i didn't have a problem with his choices in that scene. considering what they were going thru, as a husband, he would have run this scenario in his mind a few times in his head during the preceding months. he'd be prepared (to the extent one can be) for this outcome. I think being shocked and panicked would have been the superficial, ramp-up-the-drama, less realistic choice.
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No problems for me in that scene either. Now, if it had been the blood loss that we saw in the latter scene I would have been dialing 911 like a mad man. :)

My wife and I do have some personal experience with this subject so I can relate.

One thing is for sure, you are never really prepared for that moment.

I'm still happy that he didn't freak out during that scene. It wouldn't have helped the matter any.

MAH
 
Hey Ben... I need to watch your film again before I give you any criticisms. I'm hoping that on a second (and more critical) viewing, I'll come to appreciate more, but off the bat I was a little disappointed. Perhaps because you set the bar so high with 'Harold Allen'! I don't know, I'll watch it again and get back to you. But congrats on getting the film made! It looks great and is definitely the best of what I've watched so far! Ill get back to you soon..
 
Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
No problems for me in that scene either. Now, if it had been the blood loss that we saw in the latter scene I would have been dialing 911 like a mad man. :)

My wife and I do have some personal experience with this subject so I can relate.
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Mike, I really wanted to get that scene right, so I talked to 3 couples who had it happen to, and showed the cut to one of them afterwards. The reaction as far as blood loss? "Ugh ... yeah ... that's about right" Two of the couples also had stories about how it was hours afterwards that they went to the hospital once the bleeding stopped. (One was actually in her sleep, who knows how long she was there for. yikes!!!)
 
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Susanne G. said:
The only thing which wasn't clear at the beginning, was the syringe - I thought first that she is addicted to drugs. So I got it only more or less in the middle of the film. Maybe you wanted this irritation!?
Overall a very enjoyable film. Compliments!

Susanne
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Michael Anthony Horrigan said:
Hey, guys. Watched this the other night.

While I really liked this movie I felt that you didn't need to try and trick the audience. I almost felt that if you had been upfront from the start that this movie could have been even more powerful and raw. Not that it isn't, it just seemed very misleading, in a forced way, if that makes any sense.

Very nice work. You should all pat yourselves on the back for another solid entry.

MAH
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Mike! (and others) Sorry you felt this way man, here's a second trip into the director's brain, maybe that will clarify our intentions for this short a little bit. (and I apologize ahead of time, cause it's kind of an "agree to disagree" thing)

I'll be completely transparent here and say that, yes, it was our intention for the first two-thirds of this movie to carry a dual meaning with it. BUT! Everything that went with that was NOT with the intention to try and pull the rug out from underneath the audience 2/3 of the way through the movie. So why did we do it?

Frankly, I can only speculate about how well the emotions would have worked if we laid it all out on the table instead of how we structured the film. I personally think that it wouldn't have near the impact because of this: I didn't want the audience to carry their pre-conceived thoughts and emotions about child birth/conception/adaoption into watching this movie. I wanted to create those emotions right there on the spot, perhaps elicit even different emotions from the audience for this kind of film. It was my way of making sure the audience wiped their emotional slate clean before watching.

I also wanted to focus on the raw power and emotion of the images and THEN give them meaning, so that the meaning didn't interfere. In this day and age, for people who are struggling to conceive, fertilization drugs and injections are a very mundane and common practice, we did everything we could so that they were the least mundane and common as possible.
 
I thought this was a good film with a nice ending and acting. Yes, I was one of those people that thought it was going somewhere else, but that's okay, because that's how I write as well. I like to see films like these. You took a real life situation that people hardly ever talk about, but that millions of people struggle with and it's not easy. As men we many times have a very difficult time understanding a woman's emotions and how their minds work and even though I think this is a story about a man and a woman and their struggle together, this is just one of those many things that a woman goes through for a man. Very thought provoking film.
 
Ben Sliker said:
Mike, I really wanted to get that scene right, so I talked to 3 couples who had it happen to, and showed the cut to one of them afterwards. The reaction as far as blood loss? "Ugh ... yeah ... that's about right" Two of the couples also had stories about how it was hours afterwards that they went to the hospital once the bleeding stopped. (One was actually in her sleep, who knows how long she was there for. yikes!!!)
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I work in the medical field and that's probably an exaggeration on their part, especially if they didn't seek medical attention. It is a very dramatic occurrence but that kind of blood loss in the last scene is cause for an immediate response and a call to paramedics, just so we're clear.

I would hate for someone to watch this, have this happen to them, and think to themselves that that amount of blood loss is normal.

As for the scene with the husband and her in the shower, I thought that was fine. No issues at all.

This is really getting off topic since we really didn't see what happened after that last scene anyway. For all we know she went to the hospital. :)

I just don't think people should walk away from this thinking it's a normal amount of blood loss. Always seek medical attention when things get that bad. :thumbup:

I'm done with my PSA and I'll leave it at that.

Still some fine work from you guys.

MAH
 
Beautiful film. Very wide. Great cinematography, some of the best I've seen in this fest. (That Joe is a true artist!)
Like the others, I thought she was a drug addict or something, blah, blah, blah...then it turns into a Hallmark Channel film. :huh:

Now I've only seen a few of your other films and maybe I've come to expect a certain 'something' from you, but this was not one of my favorites.
The acting was so-so and they might have just been reading cue cards at the table scene. I'm not buying the level of intensity that this subject evokes. I've known couples that divorced over it. I also feel she looked too good for the amount of stress she would be under.

The score, beautiful. The cinematography, top-notch. The lighting, to die for. The edit, sweet.

Tough subject to tackle, kudos for taking it on.:beer:
 
Ben Sliker said:
That being said, this entire story takes place over a LONG time, think over a year, perhaps longer that they've been trying to have a child.
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That information was very clear to me, and I think its a real credit you could pull that component off.
 
I really liked this - visually - really inventive framing, lots of frame within a frame stuff that really worked and gave an almost voyeuristic tone. I also like how you obviously thought about a colour scheme - this gives the film a cohesive feel. I like that your shots weren't just oretty for the sake of it but with a grander purpose in mind.

As for the story - yes the 'twist' did annoy me a little at first as this isn't really the subjesct matter that calls for trickery but I see what you were trying to do - to force the viwer to think of the subject differently by comparison. And this worked. It did get me thinking in a different way about the private and shared trauma of not being able to have children.

The visual intro is beautiful but maybe jars a bit with the rest of the film? Stylistically it implies that this will be something more abstract? You would get away with it if you were more abstarct throughout..you almost tie it in but not quite I don't think. Maybe it would work better iif you bookended with a similar sequence at the end?

I liked the mostly understated performances and did find the film affecting - which is the ultimate goal so well done! Certainly pretty to look at but this is also a film with a clear message and an intelligent and thorough thought process behind it.

Great job!
 
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