Raining Katz In Blogs

I'm now one step further along in my mumblecore education now that I've finished watching Two Films by Aaron Katz, a double DVD from the excellent people at Benten Films showcasing the work of a filmmaker who's sort of the Eric Rohmer of the American Apparel set.

Quiet City is the story of two strangers, a guy and a girl, who meet by chance at a train station, spend the next 24 hours together, and gradually fall in love. Basically, it’s the mumblecore version of Before Sunrise—the two actors are scruffier-looking, they don’t have sex, and instead of wandering around Vienna, the biggest adventure they get into is when the guy goes off to pick up a hat from the friend who borrowed it, like, forever ago.

But who needs action-packed drama, right? Erin Fisher and Cris Lankenau, the two leads, perform their mating dance with a tentativeness that’s quite touching in this day and age, and Katz films the nighttime cityscape with a loving eye—even on digital video, the deep-orange sunset over Brooklyn is a glorious sight to behold. Like the improvised song Fisher and Lankenau noodle play on the keyboard in his bedroom, Quiet City has a cheerful awkwardness that puts a smile on your face.

Onto the second DVD! At 65 minutes, Dance Party, USA feels more like a well-wrought short story than a fully formed feature like Quiet City, but in the mumblecore world, modesty of ambition is a virtue. And Dance Party, USA is arguably the most mature and sophisticated of all the mumblecore films I've seen in its view of human relationships, despite the youth of its characters.

The bulk of the film takes place during a Fourth of July party in Portland, Oregon. Gus (Cole Pennsinger), who’s sort of a more morally conflicted version of Telly, the amoral sexual predator in Larry Clark’s Kids, strikes up a conversation with the pretty, apathetic Jessica (Anna Kavan), during which he makes a shameful confession that simultaneously humanizes him and makes him seem even more of a monster. How will Jessica respond? Well, her reaction is surprising and elliptical in its motivations, but Katz’ decision to end the film on such an inconclusive note is part of what makes Dance Party, USA linger in the memory as long as it does.