list http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around Confessions of a Gambler on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 http://www.spout.com/films/Confessions_of_a_Gambler/363021/default.aspx Title: Confessions of a Gambler
Year: 2007
Director: Amanda Lane
Number of blog posts: 1
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:44:38 GMTConfessions of a Gambler2007Amanda Lane13http://www.spout.com/images/no_image.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/Confessions_of_a_Gambler/363021/default.aspxFilm http://www.spout.com/blogs/jjgittes/archive/2008/10/22/36589.aspxPost By: jjgittes
Post To: jjgittes Blog
Post Date: 10/22/2008 5:44:38 PM
Body: CONFESSIONS OF A GAMBLER is another film that I had the opportunity to view at a festival not terribly long before its screening on Reel 13. In both environments, I was really impressed by the craft elements of the film, particularly for something shot on video. I thought it was extremely cinematic and very visual - the angles were really strong and creative, the editing was nicely paced from scene to scene and the lighting (except for the kitchen scenes) had a lot of nice texture to it. I even liked the music. If only the script were a little stronger…Accents were another issue. The film takes place in South Africa and though everyone speaks English, several characters are frequently hard to understand, which is magnified by how quickly many of them speak (it seems like this is a "thing" in South Africa). However, even though the accents are thick, the dialogue was not entirely integral. The director does a great job of letting the visuals tell the story. Overall, as pretty as as the pictures were, the film dragged often and was overly melodramatic at times. The dialogue that I could understand was very uninspired and often unnatural. It featured very little subtext, which only added to the melodrama. With that said, I couldn't help but be a little fascinated by the world in which the characters lived. While the plot itself left a lot to be desired, I was consistently interested of the idea of this Muslim community in South Africa. It was a world I was unfamiliar with and it added an extra element of interest for me. It was enough to push me over the edge and give the film a marginal thumbs up. (For more information about this or any other Reel 13 film, check out their website at www.reel13.org)
]]>Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:44:38 GMTjjgittesjjgittes Blog10/22/2008 5:44:38 PMCONFESSIONS OF A GAMBLER is another film that I had the opportunity to view at a festival not terribly long before its screening on Reel 13. In both environments, I was really impressed by the craft elements of the film, particularly for something shot on video. I thought it was extremely cinematic and very visual - the angles were really strong and creative, the editing was nicely paced from scene to scene and the lighting (except for the kitchen scenes) had a lot of nice texture to it. I even liked the music. If only the script were a little stronger…Accents were another issue. The film takes place in South Africa and though everyone speaks English, several characters are frequently hard to understand, which is magnified by how quickly many of them speak (it seems like this is a "thing" in South Africa). However, even though the accents are thick, the dialogue was not entirely integral. The director does a great job of letting the visuals tell the story. Overall, as pretty as as the pictures were, the film dragged often and was overly melodramatic at times. The dialogue that I could understand was very uninspired and often unnatural. It featured very little subtext, which only added to the melodrama. With that said, I couldn't help but be a little fascinated by the world in which the characters lived. While the plot itself left a lot to be desired, I was consistently interested of the idea of this Muslim community in South Africa. It was a world I was unfamiliar with and it added an extra element of interest for me. It was enough to push me over the edge and give the film a marginal thumbs up. (For more information about this or any other Reel 13 film, check out their website at www.reel13.org) http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/muslim/MemberTagFilms.aspxmuslim
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