Bird People is an unexpected delight; a
true example of the pure spirit of what independent cinema is meant to be.
Somehow after a few decades of Sundance Film Festivals and the original daring
spirit that first created the market for independently produced cinema, the
storyline for many of the films are so predictable that an argument could be
made that it has simply become another genre. These dialogue-dominant
narratives offer few surprises in story, most often merely showcasing the
talents of the filmmaker and/or their leading cast members. You could easily
find common threads in plot, creating sub-genres for road-trip films or family
dysfunction, and suddenly these formula-heavy stories no longer carry the
subversive spirit of independent cinema; they merely appear to be films too
small for the franchise-crazed film industry to bother with.
For the first
half of the film, Bird People often feels as though it will slip into the genre
of independent cinema at any moment. The narrative is slow-paced, involving two
melancholy characters sure to eventually meet. One can imagine the pitfalls of
predicable independent choices in the self indulgent storyline about a
businessman holed up in an airport hotel in Paris
Josh Charles
(“Sports Night”) stars as Gary Newman, a Silicon Valley engineer and family man
who suddenly decides to abandon his entire life on an important business trip
in Paris Gary Gary
This is a film
better experienced than explained, and the particularly surprising twist in the
plot leaves me little to discuss about the sequences that I admired the most.
Many will find the 128-minute running time daunting, but despite the film’s
slow start, it is time spent with the characters for the impact of the film’s
final act. The DVD special features only contain a trailer.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 8/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 1.5/10
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