I rarely find myself rushing to watch short films classed as 'experimental', and I'm even slower when I see things like 'mixed-media' and 'interpretive dance' are in the mix too. Knowing Riot was all this, plus French made me assume I was going to get some very deliberately difficult art short, which means something to the makers but FA to anyone casually watching. In a way, it is the film that you expect it to be, in that it is not a narrative piece that has a start/middle/end, and it does feel 'arty' with how it does what it does. None of that is criticism though, because the film is always what it states it is. What struck me though was how well it worked - particularly for a casual such as myself.
For me "working" meant that the film conveyed raw emotion really well. Frustration, rage, violence, powerlessness - all of it comes out in the 'life action' sequences, which are effectively complemented by animation. The majority of the animated parts are actually the "narrative" parts, where real life plays out, and it was an interesting contrast to have the imaginative and interpretive bit be the physical delivery. It is an acquired taste, and it runs a little longer than it can stand and the internet audience it is now aimed at may not stick with it. But I'm far from target audience and found myself held by the imaginative construction, but mainly how effectively I 'felt' the film raw angry energy.
For me "working" meant that the film conveyed raw emotion really well. Frustration, rage, violence, powerlessness - all of it comes out in the 'life action' sequences, which are effectively complemented by animation. The majority of the animated parts are actually the "narrative" parts, where real life plays out, and it was an interesting contrast to have the imaginative and interpretive bit be the physical delivery. It is an acquired taste, and it runs a little longer than it can stand and the internet audience it is now aimed at may not stick with it. But I'm far from target audience and found myself held by the imaginative construction, but mainly how effectively I 'felt' the film raw angry energy.
