it's commentary! it's a film! it's a meta-film!
September 27, 2005 2:31 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for films about whatever they're about that are also about their own making. Fiction is preferred over documentary--this approach in documentary tends to strike me as more often lazy than profound--but skillful documentaries are welcome too. [examples inside, including spoilers]
On watching Man with a Movie Camera again recently, I've become fascinated with films that tell two stories, one of them at least in part about the film's making--it seems an easy way to work in commentary about the power of film and to comment about story-telling itself. Examples include Persona, which reminds you constantly that it's a film, and The Player and Adaptation, which both use the "meta" aspect as a wicked subplot/twist revealed near the end.
In my opinion Ross McElwee can sometimes pull it off in his documentaries (I think he does in Six O'Clock News and Time Indefinite, but for some reason it rankles me in Sherman's March). I like what Varda does with it in her Gleaners films (including others' criticisms of her own choices as a film maker).
Examples where I think it doesn't add much to the story include Beyond the Mat and I Remember Me; for the most part, I think documentary filmmakers seem to fall back on this "making-of" plot once their main plot lags, so it strikes me as a kludge more than a brilliant hack. (Though Blair Witch got a clever gimmick out of it.)
What other examples can you think of? Spoilers are fine; I'm more interested in seeing what the filmmakers do with the "meta" aspect.
On watching Man with a Movie Camera again recently, I've become fascinated with films that tell two stories, one of them at least in part about the film's making--it seems an easy way to work in commentary about the power of film and to comment about story-telling itself. Examples include Persona, which reminds you constantly that it's a film, and The Player and Adaptation, which both use the "meta" aspect as a wicked subplot/twist revealed near the end.
In my opinion Ross McElwee can sometimes pull it off in his documentaries (I think he does in Six O'Clock News and Time Indefinite, but for some reason it rankles me in Sherman's March). I like what Varda does with it in her Gleaners films (including others' criticisms of her own choices as a film maker).
Examples where I think it doesn't add much to the story include Beyond the Mat and I Remember Me; for the most part, I think documentary filmmakers seem to fall back on this "making-of" plot once their main plot lags, so it strikes me as a kludge more than a brilliant hack. (Though Blair Witch got a clever gimmick out of it.)
What other examples can you think of? Spoilers are fine; I'm more interested in seeing what the filmmakers do with the "meta" aspect.
Living in Oblivion is one of my favorites and the first one that sprang to mind. The "meta" aspect isn't, like, a surprise or anything though; the movie is all about the problems making an independent film. It's hilarious though.
posted by web-goddess at 2:37 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by web-goddess at 2:37 PM on September 27, 2005
Millenium Actress is a neat anime example. The description from the IMDB:
posted by MsMolly at 2:39 PM on September 27, 2005
"A movie studio is being torn down. TV interviewer Genya Tachibana has tracked down its most famous star, Chiyoko Fujiwara, who has been a recluse since she left acting some 30 years ago. Tachibana delivers a key to her, and it causes her to reflect on her career; as she's telling the story, Tachibana and his long-suffering cameraman are drawn in. The key was given to her as a teenager by a painter and revolutionary that she helped to escape the police. She becomes an actress because it will make it possible to track him down, and she spends the next several decades acting out that search in various genres and eras."There are some really cool scenes where the director and cameraman to whom she is narrating the story appear as if they were part of it. Sorry, this isn't a great description, but I think it fits what's you're looking for.
posted by MsMolly at 2:39 PM on September 27, 2005
Fellini's Roma. It's been too long since I've seen it, so I don't have anything profound to say about it, but it mixes fiction and "making of" reasonably interestingly, though there's not much of a traditional plot.
There is, however, an ecclesiastic fashion show on roller skates, so I'm convinced that it covers all the bases.
posted by occhiblu at 2:39 PM on September 27, 2005
There is, however, an ecclesiastic fashion show on roller skates, so I'm convinced that it covers all the bases.
posted by occhiblu at 2:39 PM on September 27, 2005
Lost in La Mancha is pretty interesting. It is a documentary about a film never finished. A very weird film.
posted by Mr T at 2:41 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by Mr T at 2:41 PM on September 27, 2005
Not exactly what you're looking for, but Day for Night is a film by François Truffaut about the making of a fictional movie Je vous presente Pamela. The actor playing the director of this fictional movie? François Truffaut. You could easily see how Day for Night could be about its own making.
posted by Khalad at 2:41 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by Khalad at 2:41 PM on September 27, 2005
Not a film, but: read Jill Godmilow's "Kill the Documentary as We Know It" for what she calls the "self-reflexive second track" and her reasons why this is necessary for both fiction and non-fiction films.
posted by fionab at 2:44 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by fionab at 2:44 PM on September 27, 2005
This is going to sound weird, but there's also In the Jaws of Life, which I may not have actually seen. We read the novella for a Lit & Film course, then watched *some* movie that was related to it, but I'm not sure if it was *this* film.
In any event, the novella is a wonderful example of the literary equivalent of what you're talking about, and it looks like the film is arranged around the same "meta" idea.
And is in Serbo-Croatian, which might be a plus. Sigh. I've hit my quota for pretentious film recommendations for the day...
posted by occhiblu at 2:45 PM on September 27, 2005
In any event, the novella is a wonderful example of the literary equivalent of what you're talking about, and it looks like the film is arranged around the same "meta" idea.
And is in Serbo-Croatian, which might be a plus. Sigh. I've hit my quota for pretentious film recommendations for the day...
posted by occhiblu at 2:45 PM on September 27, 2005
Strange example, perhaps, but The Muppet Movie is a film about the making of a film. Throughout the plot there are self-referential moments such as when Kermit and Fozzie stop to consult the screenplay when they arrive at Dr Teeth and the Electric Mayhem's church.
20 Dates is a truly abominable 'comedy' film which puports to be about the making of a movie concerning itself with a man who wants to go on 20 dates. Much of the business is set around the film producer, investment and so on. But it is no more a genuine documentary than it is genuinely funny.
posted by skylar at 2:47 PM on September 27, 2005
20 Dates is a truly abominable 'comedy' film which puports to be about the making of a movie concerning itself with a man who wants to go on 20 dates. Much of the business is set around the film producer, investment and so on. But it is no more a genuine documentary than it is genuinely funny.
posted by skylar at 2:47 PM on September 27, 2005
Oh, no, wait, one more for the post-modernists: Derrida, which is a documentary. The filmmakers do things like showing him and his wife watching video that they've shot (and which the audience has already seen) to get his reaction to the film within the context of the film. There's also a great moment where they're filming him walking across a busy street, and the cameraperson trips, and Derrida reaches out toward the camera to steady him or her -- it's a jarring "Oh, I'm watching someone being *filmed*" moment for the viewer.
posted by occhiblu at 2:48 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by occhiblu at 2:48 PM on September 27, 2005
One of my favorite movies, Targets. Boris Karloff plays an aging horror actor, Peter Bogdanovich is the young director trying to coax him into making one more movie, as a young man goes on an initially-unrelated Charles-Whitman-esque killing spree.
posted by jessenoonan at 2:48 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by jessenoonan at 2:48 PM on September 27, 2005
Does Badasssss count?
It's not a documentary, but the movie follows Melvin Van Peebles's making of Sweet Sweetback's Badassss Song.
posted by SAC at 2:53 PM on September 27, 2005
It's not a documentary, but the movie follows Melvin Van Peebles's making of Sweet Sweetback's Badassss Song.
posted by SAC at 2:53 PM on September 27, 2005
Speaking Parts, by Atom Egoyan.
About a struggling actor/hotel custodian/male prostitute being cast in his first speaking role in a movie. Creepiness ensues. It's one of my favourite films.
posted by spinifex23 at 2:54 PM on September 27, 2005
About a struggling actor/hotel custodian/male prostitute being cast in his first speaking role in a movie. Creepiness ensues. It's one of my favourite films.
posted by spinifex23 at 2:54 PM on September 27, 2005
Man Bites Dog. French film released by Criterion with this title. The conceit is that a documentary film crew is following this serial killer around, making a film about him, and they get progressively less detached and more involved with their subject. I think it's just the sort of movie you're asking for.
posted by Hildago at 2:57 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by Hildago at 2:57 PM on September 27, 2005
What I shohuld have said a minute ago:
Actually, the most "meta" thing about Targets is that it incorporates footage of Karloff (and Jack Nicholson) in The Terror. In the film, this is the film that Bogdanovich's and Karloff's characters have just finished. In real life, producer Roger Corman's stipulated that Corman use stock footage from The Terror in this film.
In real real life, I am too tired to make sense in describing it.
posted by jessenoonan at 2:58 PM on September 27, 2005
Actually, the most "meta" thing about Targets is that it incorporates footage of Karloff (and Jack Nicholson) in The Terror. In the film, this is the film that Bogdanovich's and Karloff's characters have just finished. In real life, producer Roger Corman's stipulated that Corman use stock footage from The Terror in this film.
In real real life, I am too tired to make sense in describing it.
posted by jessenoonan at 2:58 PM on September 27, 2005
Lost in La Mancha seconded, as well as Adaptation, even if that is a (fiction) feature film in the end.
Which leaves me with only "Crazy Like They Are" to suggest; I saw it at IDFA last year, and can honestly report that it is one of the worst films I have ever, ever seen. And I say this not only as a documentary enthusiast, but also as someone who's not easily disappointed. In fact, I would never recommend this film to anyone for any other set of reasons than the exact one detailed in your question.
Which makes it all the more interesting as a research object, I guess. Check it out, if you can find it.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:06 PM on September 27, 2005
Which leaves me with only "Crazy Like They Are" to suggest; I saw it at IDFA last year, and can honestly report that it is one of the worst films I have ever, ever seen. And I say this not only as a documentary enthusiast, but also as someone who's not easily disappointed. In fact, I would never recommend this film to anyone for any other set of reasons than the exact one detailed in your question.
Which makes it all the more interesting as a research object, I guess. Check it out, if you can find it.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 3:06 PM on September 27, 2005
David Holzman's Diary is a masterpiece. Track it down.
Lars von Trier's Epidemic.
Sullivan's Travels very loosely fits your parameters as does Michael Haneke's Funny Games.
All that Jazz doesn't fit your criteria but I'd watch it anyway as it's very interesting. At one point it features Roy Scheider playing Bob Fosse (known as Joe Gideon in the film) editing a film in which Cliff Gorman is playing Dustin Hoffman (known as Davis Newman in the film) who's playing Lenny Bruce.
... And God Spoke
producer Roger Corman's stipulated that Corman use stock footage from The Terror in this film.
This is not the reason the footage is in the film. The reason the footage is in the film (and Karloff is in Targets) is because Corman had Karloff under contract for X days but had finished the film early. Since he had paid Karloff anyway, he told Bogdonavich that he had to use him in Targets.
posted by dobbs at 3:11 PM on September 27, 2005
Lars von Trier's Epidemic.
Sullivan's Travels very loosely fits your parameters as does Michael Haneke's Funny Games.
All that Jazz doesn't fit your criteria but I'd watch it anyway as it's very interesting. At one point it features Roy Scheider playing Bob Fosse (known as Joe Gideon in the film) editing a film in which Cliff Gorman is playing Dustin Hoffman (known as Davis Newman in the film) who's playing Lenny Bruce.
... And God Spoke
producer Roger Corman's stipulated that Corman use stock footage from The Terror in this film.
This is not the reason the footage is in the film. The reason the footage is in the film (and Karloff is in Targets) is because Corman had Karloff under contract for X days but had finished the film early. Since he had paid Karloff anyway, he told Bogdonavich that he had to use him in Targets.
posted by dobbs at 3:11 PM on September 27, 2005
Oops. My formatting makes things unclear. ... And God Spoke is a film that fits your criteria. The following quote/paragraph is unrelated.
posted by dobbs at 3:12 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by dobbs at 3:12 PM on September 27, 2005
Lars Von Trier's "The Five Obstructions" is a documentary about a filmmaker (Jørgen Leth) remaking a short film 5 times in 5 very different ways. A great look at two very creative filmmakers...
posted by Gortuk at 3:13 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by Gortuk at 3:13 PM on September 27, 2005
Oh, and Tuwa, Time Indefinite is terrific. One of my favorite films ever.
posted by dobbs at 3:13 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by dobbs at 3:13 PM on September 27, 2005
In "The French Lieutenant's Woman" a film is being made of a story, set in 19th century England, about Charles, a biologist who's engaged to be married, but who falls in love with outcast Sarah, whose melancholy makes her leave him after a short, but passionate affair.
Anna and Mike, who play the characters of Sarah and Charles, go, during the shooting of the film, through a relationship that runs parallel to that of their characters.
posted by essexjan at 3:15 PM on September 27, 2005
Anna and Mike, who play the characters of Sarah and Charles, go, during the shooting of the film, through a relationship that runs parallel to that of their characters.
posted by essexjan at 3:15 PM on September 27, 2005
8 1/2, obviously. Hal Hartley's Flirt. Less obviously, Drop Dead Gorgeous (which kind of parodies the whole self-aware meta-documentary genre).
posted by Sonny Jim at 3:15 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by Sonny Jim at 3:15 PM on September 27, 2005
A Moment of Innocence. Spectacular film. I'm surprised it isn't better-known.
It's about the director making a film about an event in his youth: he stabbed a police officer in the unrest leading up to the Iranian revolution. He finds the police officer, befriends him, and the two cast the film together. There's an incredible moment when it switches seamlessly, almost dreamlike, from a making-of documentary to the movie itself: the actors simply, suddenly, go into character. So effortless and elegant. As the movie proceeds, the filmakers (the director and the cop) cannot make it conform to the reality they remember: the youthful optimism of the actors overcomes them. The ending is brilliant; the film concludes with an enormously powerful freeze-frame. You should see it.
posted by mr_roboto at 3:33 PM on September 27, 2005
It's about the director making a film about an event in his youth: he stabbed a police officer in the unrest leading up to the Iranian revolution. He finds the police officer, befriends him, and the two cast the film together. There's an incredible moment when it switches seamlessly, almost dreamlike, from a making-of documentary to the movie itself: the actors simply, suddenly, go into character. So effortless and elegant. As the movie proceeds, the filmakers (the director and the cop) cannot make it conform to the reality they remember: the youthful optimism of the actors overcomes them. The ending is brilliant; the film concludes with an enormously powerful freeze-frame. You should see it.
posted by mr_roboto at 3:33 PM on September 27, 2005
Michael Winterbottom's latest film Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story is exactly this. I caught it at this year's Toronto International Film Festival, and it might be my favourite of the 20 or so films I saw. It's also hilarious.
The film is about the making of the film, but it is also the film itself. Imagine watching a period drama in which the main character occasionally speaks to the camera or the audience becomes privy to the casting process... it's all quite meta, post-modern, and bizarre. I loved it.
posted by Robot Johnny at 3:38 PM on September 27, 2005 [1 favorite]
The film is about the making of the film, but it is also the film itself. Imagine watching a period drama in which the main character occasionally speaks to the camera or the audience becomes privy to the casting process... it's all quite meta, post-modern, and bizarre. I loved it.
posted by Robot Johnny at 3:38 PM on September 27, 2005 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: mr_roboto, you've just reminded me of a film I saw some time ago that very effortlessly switches from being a fiction film to being a film about its own frustrated making, when the young star actress orders the bus driver to stop and then gets off and goes home. Also an Iranian film. Can't for the life of me remember the title of it. Very clever work, though.
posted by Tuwa at 3:43 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by Tuwa at 3:43 PM on September 27, 2005
This is spinal tap
The Office (TV)
Reality bites
Epidemic
The last one (by von Trier) is a good example of what you're looking for. The script for a film is lost on a floppy, and the writers try to convey the spirit of the film to the financers through emotional acting. In the meantime, the film without a script (about an epidemy) is enacted around them. The limit between the film to be produced and the plot about the scriptwriters gets unclear.
On preview: As Dobbs already said.
posted by springload at 3:50 PM on September 27, 2005
The Office (TV)
Reality bites
Epidemic
The last one (by von Trier) is a good example of what you're looking for. The script for a film is lost on a floppy, and the writers try to convey the spirit of the film to the financers through emotional acting. In the meantime, the film without a script (about an epidemy) is enacted around them. The limit between the film to be produced and the plot about the scriptwriters gets unclear.
On preview: As Dobbs already said.
posted by springload at 3:50 PM on September 27, 2005
How about Peter Watkins' Punishment Park? It's been years since I've seen it, but it is a fake documentary, and they acknowledge the "real" events are being filmed. At one point the film crew gets taken hostage. I hate to sound like an English major, but Watkins' films can be enjoyed on many levels.
I just saw this film will be coming out on DVD in the US and UK in November.
posted by marxchivist at 3:52 PM on September 27, 2005
I just saw this film will be coming out on DVD in the US and UK in November.
posted by marxchivist at 3:52 PM on September 27, 2005
American Movie is ostensibly a documentary, and quite funny.
posted by kableh at 3:53 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by kableh at 3:53 PM on September 27, 2005
Two films featuring Maggie Cheung:
Center Stage, which is about a Chinese actress from the 1930's, cuts from the (very good) story of the actress' life to interviews with Cheung and other members of the cast about making the film.
Irma Vep, which is a fictional film about making a film starring Cheung. It also features Jean-Pierre Léaud of Truffaut fame as the director of the film-within-the-film. It's pretty awesome.
posted by cloeburner at 3:53 PM on September 27, 2005
Center Stage, which is about a Chinese actress from the 1930's, cuts from the (very good) story of the actress' life to interviews with Cheung and other members of the cast about making the film.
Irma Vep, which is a fictional film about making a film starring Cheung. It also features Jean-Pierre Léaud of Truffaut fame as the director of the film-within-the-film. It's pretty awesome.
posted by cloeburner at 3:53 PM on September 27, 2005
I can't personally recomend it but another movie about making a movie is The Stunt Man. It's got a bit of a cult following. I thought it was corny. Probably just a reflection of my thoughts regarding that era (it came out in 1980).
posted by Mr T at 4:11 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by Mr T at 4:11 PM on September 27, 2005
Blair Witch Project.
posted by macadamiaranch at 5:00 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by macadamiaranch at 5:00 PM on September 27, 2005
American Splendor?
Yeah, that's what I was going to suggest.
posted by ludwig_van at 5:30 PM on September 27, 2005
Yeah, that's what I was going to suggest.
posted by ludwig_van at 5:30 PM on September 27, 2005
I will second dobbs recommendation of David Holzman's Diary (1968).
Rent this film.
posted by jeremias at 5:43 PM on September 27, 2005
Rent this film.
posted by jeremias at 5:43 PM on September 27, 2005
Blue Vinyl is a documentary with a skillful execution of this, IMO. Judith Helfand is trying to convince her parents not to replace the wood siding on their house with vinyl; the film is about the process she goes through, soliciting experts, industry people, etc. She stays on topic; I consider the meta-stuff skillful because it says a lot about family relationships, the difficulty of convincing the "average person" of any environmental argument, and the way industry spin people can completely stonewall you no matter how much you prepare for your interview with them.
posted by xueexueg at 6:24 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by xueexueg at 6:24 PM on September 27, 2005
Buster Keaton's The Cameraman, intended at least in part as a kind of "answer film" to Man with a Movie Camera.
posted by mwhybark at 6:54 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by mwhybark at 6:54 PM on September 27, 2005
The Wizard of Speed and Time is an obscure, somewhat cheesy but wonderful example. Very meta. An independent animator wants to turn his award-winning short into a feature. Everyone tells him it can't be done. He ends up making a fictionalized narrative about making the feature, including an obligatory Chase Scene, Bedroom Scene, etc. Even the Evil Producer who screws him out of his end (in real life) is a character in the film.
Also, second Man Bites Dog and Adaptation. I loved The Stunt Man, but I don't think it qualifies (it's a moving about making a movie, the itself).
posted by zanni at 6:55 PM on September 27, 2005
Also, second Man Bites Dog and Adaptation. I loved The Stunt Man, but I don't think it qualifies (it's a moving about making a movie, the itself).
posted by zanni at 6:55 PM on September 27, 2005
Mel Brooks's Silent Movie is a comedy about director Mel Funn (Brooks, of course) trying to make a silent film in contemporary (1976) Hollywood. And it's silent. Unfortunately not on DVD, but worth watching.
posted by kyleg at 7:05 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by kyleg at 7:05 PM on September 27, 2005
Bob Roberts, kind of. Its semi about the filming of a fictional documentary.
posted by devilsbrigade at 7:19 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by devilsbrigade at 7:19 PM on September 27, 2005
Orson Welles' F for Fake. Recently released on a Criterion DVD and perhaps my favorite of all his movies. Sort of a documentary, sort of not.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:40 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 7:40 PM on September 27, 2005
How about Series 7? It's a pretend reality tv show with not many rules that goes all out of control. It's very funny and very violent.
I would also like to second the nominations for:
Incident at Loch Ness (excellent, especially if you already like Werner Herzog)
and
Man Bites Dog (also great!)
posted by RoseovSharon at 7:43 PM on September 27, 2005
I would also like to second the nominations for:
Incident at Loch Ness (excellent, especially if you already like Werner Herzog)
and
Man Bites Dog (also great!)
posted by RoseovSharon at 7:43 PM on September 27, 2005
Fellini's Eight and a Half really does own this subgenre. I believe the Iranian film referenced upthread is Kiarostami's The Taste of Cherry.
posted by Wolof at 8:49 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by Wolof at 8:49 PM on September 27, 2005
(Oops, it isn't, but the Kiarostami will fit the criteria nicely.)
posted by Wolof at 9:45 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by Wolof at 9:45 PM on September 27, 2005
Response by poster: Taste of Cherry fits; you're right. It's another that I'd seen and forgotten about in writing the question (along with Stunt Man and American Splendor).
... After quite a bit of looking I found the film I was thinking of: The Mirror, by Jafar Panahi.
Such a lot of films here--it's wonderful but also makes me wonder if someone hasn't written a thesis about meta-film (and how I'd go about finding it if so).
posted by Tuwa at 9:53 PM on September 27, 2005
... After quite a bit of looking I found the film I was thinking of: The Mirror, by Jafar Panahi.
Such a lot of films here--it's wonderful but also makes me wonder if someone hasn't written a thesis about meta-film (and how I'd go about finding it if so).
posted by Tuwa at 9:53 PM on September 27, 2005
"Showing the apparatus" («montrer l'appareil») was regarded as pretty much the fine flower of materialism in the sixties, so I'd be astonished if a thesis on metafilm didn't exist. Sorry I can't point you at anything specific.
Godard and Gorin's Dziga Vertov films would also (unsurprisingly) fit the bill.
posted by Wolof at 10:45 PM on September 27, 2005
Godard and Gorin's Dziga Vertov films would also (unsurprisingly) fit the bill.
posted by Wolof at 10:45 PM on September 27, 2005
Er, for "appareil" read "dispositif". Thick as pigshit today.
posted by Wolof at 11:17 PM on September 27, 2005
posted by Wolof at 11:17 PM on September 27, 2005
Response by poster: Thanks to everyone who made suggestions, and to Wolof for the new search term, and to growabrain for the link (it looks like an interesting program there, and I could have remembered The Mirror much sooner if I'd gone to the page straight off--they talk about it a bit).
posted by Tuwa at 6:14 AM on September 28, 2005
posted by Tuwa at 6:14 AM on September 28, 2005
"The True Meaning of Pictures" fits the bill exactly. Really fascinating. Available on NetFlix.
posted by mzurer at 10:04 AM on September 28, 2005
posted by mzurer at 10:04 AM on September 28, 2005
There's Fubar, which is a mocumentry where the 'documentor' becomes more and more important as the film goes on.
posted by Four Flavors at 10:43 AM on September 28, 2005
posted by Four Flavors at 10:43 AM on September 28, 2005
Released on DVD until next month, Paradise Lost is the devastating HBO documentary about the West Memphis Three.
It includes an almost surreal meta-moment in which the documentarians are sucked into the very criminal trial which they are filming when a possible murder suspect presents a knife as a gift to the filmmakers. The filmmakers notice the presence of blood on the weapon, and, knowing that the murder weapon is missing, hand it over to the police. So while making a film about a murder trial, the filmmakers themselves end up testifying in the very trial they are filming.
posted by soiled cowboy at 11:25 PM on September 28, 2005
It includes an almost surreal meta-moment in which the documentarians are sucked into the very criminal trial which they are filming when a possible murder suspect presents a knife as a gift to the filmmakers. The filmmakers notice the presence of blood on the weapon, and, knowing that the murder weapon is missing, hand it over to the police. So while making a film about a murder trial, the filmmakers themselves end up testifying in the very trial they are filming.
posted by soiled cowboy at 11:25 PM on September 28, 2005
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posted by phearlez at 2:35 PM on September 27, 2005