Reviews

Yes, it's a short one, but manages to pack a punch in your rum belly all the same. A young man prances around the empty Grand Central Station of New York City, crashing into walls, sliding down handrails and making great use of the empty space with hop hop hoppity actions. All this frolicking leads the audience up to the aforementioned punch in the rum belly that leaves you rolling in the aisles, or just smiling, thoroughly charmed. When most student filmmakers seem content in shooting in the park or some other nondescript area, Mr. Kalb has managed to style a film, and make it work no less, in a most coveted New York City location. I applaud this young gentleman and beseech him to keep the films coming.

There is a plague that befalls film students, one of the mind. It sinks in deep and festers within, and unfortunately is enforced by the film school machine. This film, The Cutman, stands as a testament to that plague, the false notion that "great" student films cost a lot of money ($100,000), are lumbering and long ( thirty minutes), that style can overcome substance, and that any desire to bring something new to the table must be tossed into the abyss. The film is capably done, as most student films these days are. They can't say we're not learning how to work the machinery. Applause for the robots please. An interesting notion, the point of view of the cutman, is wasted on unearthing the same old dirt that every other student film is digging. The short film form is not being advanced at all by films like this, more like trapped in a sinkhole that says films are "calling cards for the industry so just follow the formula please." I have no doubt the director will find work in the industry. I just hope that upon finding his way "in" he decides to shake things up a little bit, so The Cutman will end up serving a valiant purpose.