Quiet City (2007)

Lack of good storyline.

Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Good concept, poorly executed.

Better Late Then Never

(Mild Spoilers) Touching and heart-felt little film that has Jamie coming over from far off Atlanta to the Parkslope section in Brooklyn to meet her friend Samantha whom she plans to stay with over the weekend.As things turn out Samantha is a no-show with Jamie meeting Charlie who's on his way home on the subway. Having no place to stay Charlie is more then willing to let Jamie crash at his pad. It doesn't take long for both Charlie and Jamie to click as the two ,dispite having lived almost 1,000 miles apart, have a lot in common with each other. The movie "Quite City" has Charlie and Jamie make the best of the brief time that they have with each other which includes going to a local art-show that Jamie's Brooklyn friend Robin, who's like Jamie a native from Atlanta GA.,is sponsoring.In between meeting Robin and her somewhat obnoxious boyfriend, and Charlie's high-school buddy, Kayle Charlie had a chance to get a hold of his prized fedora that he once left over at his friend Adam's apartment. It was too bad that Charlie got so involved with Adam talking about the good old days that he forgot to take his fedora with him! After going to an all night party with Kayle and getting both high and drunk on pot and booze Charlie and Robin take the subway home only to fall asleep and miss their stop, Smith/9th St, and eventually end up in Conley Island.Even though Jamie didn't meet the person she was to see in Brooklyn-Samantha-she did meet the handsome and sensitive Charlie Miller who not only got to spend the weekend with her but made her feel at home and know that her visit to the Big Apple wasn't a complete waste of time. You know as the movie is ending with Jamie on a flight back to Atlanta that her brief time with Charlie, who among other things Jamie gave him a free haircut, would eventually grow into something much bigger; The next time that she decides to visit her friend Samantha, who'll hopefully remember to show up, in the "City of Churches": Brooklyn New York.

This film is one of the most beautiful and poignant that I've ever seen. I'm 23, and to finally see a film that accurately portrays the conversation, fears and apathy of 21st century post-uni lifestyle is absolutely liberating. There's a great essay with the DVD which points to Tzu and Cassavettes (sic.) as pioneers in this genre and influences which I'm sure are fair and true but it's not the cine-literate side of this film I love. It's the human side. The side where a simple silly dance between 4 people in a room is an expression of utter freedom. The side where a mere high five is f****** monumental. Conversations with strangers that go nowhere and do nothing and all the while the city is peaceful and contemplative. The trains keep going, the traffic lights keep changing.Take a chance on this movie if your eyes and ears are open to a different perspective on twenty something life.

Katz's third feature is a rather sweet offering about a boy and girl who meet accidentally and form a close friendship over the space of a weekend. It's best viewed without too many expectations - the rough cinematography and absence of plot will disappoint some film-goers, however both the characters and the performances are convincing and endearing, and the mood is suitably quirky throughout.Yes, the movie is somewhat self-indulgent; some scenes would have benefited from a trimming-down, yet the narrative flow is unhindered by the slower pace. Although Katz doesn't emerge from 'Quiet City' as a director with an agenda, after his tedious comment on teenage rape, 'Dance Party USA', it's perhaps for the best that he sticks to observational film-making, and leaves social commentary well alone.

Much like Hannah Takes the Stairs, Aaron Katz's Quiet City focuses more on dialogue than on plot. I mean, here's the plot, in a nutshell. Girl flies to a strange city to meet her friend. Girl meets strange boy and asks strange boy for directions to diner so that she can meet her flaky friend that is always late and sometimes never shows up (I mean, we see where this is going, don't we?). Strange boy accompanies girl to diner, into diner, after diner, and several days following. There's some other people involved; an art show and after party; and some six degrees action to make the plot a bit more interesting; but that's about it.But it's a nice film. That's really all there is to it. This is yet another film by another "ultra-indy" filmmaker, focusing on twentysomethings and the way they communicate. The scene, cutely coined mumblecore seems to lump together a group of filmmakers (coincidentally, all of them seem to like each other and/or work together) who all seem to be focused on the ultra-indy tactics like self-distribution, microbudgets and digital marketing of their own films. It's interesting how the six degrees theme in the film, Quiet City seems to ring true for this whole mumblecore thing. These guys all started out individually, but we've seen quite a collaboration this year. I'm anxious to see what's next for the "mumblecorps"?