Cinema Crazed

2007

Rated: Unrated

Genre: Drama Short

Directed By: Bragi Schut

Running Time: 14 Minutes

Review by: Felix Vasquez Jr.

Review Date: 9/8/08

CHARLIE THISTLE

Attn: Bragi Schut, you forgot to include your email and or a press kit in your DVD copy for “Charlie Thistle.” I think you did it out of forgetfulness, and I hope you didn’t do it for fear of a bad review because guess what? “Charlie Thistle” is a great piece of filmmaking. It’s like David Lynch and Tim Burton got together and had a bastard child developing this short drama, one of the most unusual pieces of experimental filmmaking I’ve ever seen but also one of the best examples of originality and innovation to boot. A jab at corporate politics, Charlie Thistle is a government worker for the Branch of Normality who is ordered never to inspire change.

One day when he decides to break free from the uniformity, he incites a large ruckus in his world. A combination of “Pleasantville” with a touch of Tim Burton, Charlie transforms from a conformist to a bonafide anarchist who finds the limitations of his world stifling. Living in a black and white house with a safe routine bores him and once he begins changing things, suddenly the difference is noticeable, and he goes hogwild.

Schut’s film inspires people to change their lives and never settle, and it also explores the effect actions positive and negative, can have on a group of people no matter how minimal, and with some of the best special effects I’ve ever seen in an Independent film, Schut delivers this premise and ultimate hook with pure awe inspiring results. Jon Keel is wonderful as Charlie, the meek man who becomes a messiah, while Leslie Stevens is great as his supportive wife Ezzie, who takes to his changes with a stiff upper libs and pat on the back. “Charlie Thistle” is a weird movie, but it’s a great one with a positive message about thinking outside the box when society demands mediocrity.

Bragi Schut's film is a great statement about standing strong in your opinions, and never being afraid to shake things up when life is a lemon to live in. "Charlie Thistle" is a fantastic little experiment and I hope to see more from Schut.

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