Raven-1969
Chilling with flamingos, giving people little tarts to cheer them up, waterfalls, a mailbox to the future, sprinkling holy water on flowers as well as people, jazz jam sessions, ocean waves, notes scrawled on little paper umbrellas, and beer runs; the film is like taking a fanciful walk through the city and discovering stories, wisdom and beauty around each turn. They are real stories from real people. The stories are revealed in a way that allows viewers to think that they were stumbled upon by chance, just like a walk around the block. Viewers are privy to interesting and enchanting conversations. "If I pretend not to hear adults," says a child, "they disappear." "People make a place special," says a young architecture student. "Appearance is a manifestation of how we are inside, and it may represent our past or future just as much as the present." The scenes are improvised and loosely organized, yet brilliant and fun, just like the play of children, a flowing stream or the mischievous banter from the director (who sat a few feet from me during the question and answer session in the little Jackson Art Museum theater).The film matches the personality of the director perfectly. Doyle is a cinematography guru, and he does not fail to amaze in this respect. The camera-work is fanciful, colorful and radiant, like a butterfly, flitting around little figures, pausing on bits of nectar, and providing glimpses from different angles and perspectives that complement the characters rather than detract from them. Four and a half of five stars. Seen at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015. An aside; Christopher Doyle on the traditional three act structure taught in film school; "fuck the three act structure!"
