The best part about films like No Such Thing is what they can teach American film students, or really any film student about ideas of storytelling, narrative construction, thematic expression, and just basic writing. It would be nice to say this is just a B film, or a failed attempt at a serious philosophical work, but in fact the film takes itself quite seriously and expects us to as well. This is not the case.
When I watched this film I thought of Wim Wenders "Until The End of Time" and Jan Svankmajer's "Little Otik". It's great to watch these films to see just how different a perspective their directors have on how to tell a basic story on the screen. In my opinion it's the completely wrong perspective, but I would say that is because I'm a very American film student. No Such Thing is a terrific example of everything not to do when trying to make a serious philosophical film. The film is riddled with such horrific banalities, euro trash acting, and is so trite and cliché at points that I had to stop watching it for 3-5 minute interludes to keep from screaming. The weird part is that some people really think this is what a good film is, that his is HOW TO do it, how to write, how to tell that great story, how to direct actors. In the same night I watched this film I also watched, for the second time, Todd Solondz's masterpiece, and yes it is a masterpiece, "Storytelling". One need only watch these films back to back to understand the difference between brilliant, tight, succinct writing and poignant, dead-on acting as is portrayed and executed in Storytelling, and basically stupid, contrived, and otherwise abysmal writing and acting as exemplified by No Such Thing.
Personally though, it's also interesting for me at least to see how films like No Such Thing get made, are distributed, are consumed, and how some people even enjoy them and believe them to be great when in fact they are basically beneath even utter trash, as good trash like anything Gregg Araki, is at least identifiable as trash from the start and is fully aware of its trashiness from the start, it is the intention of the director. But for films such as this that do take themselves quite seriously, we can only stare into the screen and wonder how far down people have sunk that green lighted them, and how further down they are pulling and tainting a blind audience. If there's nothing else on, people will watch anything.
When I watched this film I thought of Wim Wenders "Until The End of Time" and Jan Svankmajer's "Little Otik". It's great to watch these films to see just how different a perspective their directors have on how to tell a basic story on the screen. In my opinion it's the completely wrong perspective, but I would say that is because I'm a very American film student. No Such Thing is a terrific example of everything not to do when trying to make a serious philosophical film. The film is riddled with such horrific banalities, euro trash acting, and is so trite and cliché at points that I had to stop watching it for 3-5 minute interludes to keep from screaming. The weird part is that some people really think this is what a good film is, that his is HOW TO do it, how to write, how to tell that great story, how to direct actors. In the same night I watched this film I also watched, for the second time, Todd Solondz's masterpiece, and yes it is a masterpiece, "Storytelling". One need only watch these films back to back to understand the difference between brilliant, tight, succinct writing and poignant, dead-on acting as is portrayed and executed in Storytelling, and basically stupid, contrived, and otherwise abysmal writing and acting as exemplified by No Such Thing.
Personally though, it's also interesting for me at least to see how films like No Such Thing get made, are distributed, are consumed, and how some people even enjoy them and believe them to be great when in fact they are basically beneath even utter trash, as good trash like anything Gregg Araki, is at least identifiable as trash from the start and is fully aware of its trashiness from the start, it is the intention of the director. But for films such as this that do take themselves quite seriously, we can only stare into the screen and wonder how far down people have sunk that green lighted them, and how further down they are pulling and tainting a blind audience. If there's nothing else on, people will watch anything.