|
 WALLS IN
THE CITY (Barrel
Entertainment) 1994. 63 minutes. Not Rated. Made up of three
short stories, Walls in the City depict brief moments in various
characters’ lives as they struggle for their own slice of the American
Dream. However, this wedge of the American Dream is cut from the urine
scented, sludge ridden fifth of some gutter that runs down the side of a
street frequented by smelly looking down-and-outers who are more down and
out than my fastball in high school.
The
atmosphere in Walls in the City, and the characters who pollute it, are so
real you’ll surely feel an imaginary cockroach or two scuttle across
your toes. Along with his employing of cockroach Jedi mind tricks,
director Jim Sikora should develop his own line of deodorant to help
protect viewers from this movie’s infectious stink. And I type that with
the highest compliments because Sikora got his point across with flying
colors. Some may find the grainy film and rough edits amateurish, but I
found them to help breath a beautiful booze scented breathe into the
already poverty stricken settings and character development. The second
short, Love After the Walls Close In, is based on a Charles Bukowski
story. DVD extras include; three other Sikora short movies (none of which
I particularly liked), commentary by Sikora and a few actors, photo
gallery, and a music video. Humans can be so gross sometimes. Walls in the
City has motivated me to go shave, and that’s really saying something.
– Denis Sheehan
|
