Independent Producer Sue Mell asks people 3 questions about their fathers:
1.Were you close to your dad growing up?
2.Are you close to him now?
3.What's one thing that stands out in you mind about your dad--good or bad?
2 Comments
|
Review of DadsThere are unexpectedly poignant moments in these brief interviews which are somehow simultaneously casual and intimate. Because of the collage treatment, you don't really get to know any individual characters--either the speakers or their fathers--in a coherent way, but instead, you receive an oddly affecting composite portrait of fathers, or, more precisely, the EFFECT of fathers. The ending is a bit truncated, leaving you with a mid-stream feeling. For that reason, I'd recommend using this in a larger context, as an element in a larger consideration of fathers. If anything, this piece should be longer, more developed, which might give it more cumulative impact |
Musical Works
Don't Come Home, Varnaline, Zero Hour Records, 1997.
Average Rating
Bookmark & Share
Additional Information
- Produced: Jun 01, 2004
- Added to PRX: Jun 12, 2004
- This piece is in English
Seth Lind
Posted on December 15, 2004 at 10:17 AM | Permalink
Review of Dads
What a nice, surprisingly sad piece. I went away feeling a bit scared to become a father, especially after hearing one woman's story of her creative, fun dad who one day left forever. I was struck by the snippets about these distant men, and how despite the differences they almost blend into a single narrative. Maybe it is because a close, happy relationship doesn't make a good story, that the darkness came to the foreground in this piece.
Strucurally, the movement from the opening montage of shorter clips to longer ones works well, and the closing quote is a nice touch that works as an explanation for the lack of depth in any one story. The closing music sounded great; it would be welcome throughout the piece, possibly replacing the repeteded interviewer questions which, after the first batch, we could infer from the answers.
Thank you for these stories!