Wednesday, June 20, 2018

The God Inside My Ear (2018) Threadbare Mitten Film Fest - June 22-24 in Charlotte, Michigan

The material I received concerning THE GOD MY EAR described it as a "It's a microbudget ($8,000) feature length surreal, art house, horror, thriller". I would add comedy. I think writer director Joe Badon just lost his lunch with my addition to his description but to be honest the film is so knowing in it's execution that there is a great deal of humor in the proceeding. Despite the humor the film generates a great deal of tension.

The film follows a young woman named Elizia. After he discovers enlightenment her boyfriend leaves her. This throws Elizia into a tizzy. Her life crumbles and weird things begin to happen. She tries to overcome the desolation but it doesn't help she just ends up going farther down the spiral.

I can't say more than that because where it goes and how it's told is the film. I can say that this film is going to delight anyone looking for the next cult film. A weird art trip into craziness with flashes of Terrance Malick at his most ethereal, the film has enough going for it that some people are going to latch onto it just for the images and the oddness. It's in the surreal  hallucination/vision sequences that the film generates much of it's tension.

The question as to whether people love it or not is going to depend on the knowing tone the film takes. Hitting a good number of the cliches in films where a person latches on to a great truth no one else understands as well as hints of an evil cult, the film attacks the sequences with a dry humor that some people  are going to love and some people aren't. Actually once you realize that there is humor in the film then what could be construed as pretentious sequences suddenly work like gangbusters. Seeing the humor connects us to the insanity and allows for us to accept the seemingly well worn plot line.

I genuinely like the film and what it is doing. I like how director Badon has crafted the film to work on several levels at the same time. I like what he does with the weirdness enough to be curious what he would do with a more conventional narrative.

For anyone who doesn't want a conventional Hollywood film and wants to try something delightfully off kilter, this film is for you. Probably the best thing I can say is this is exactly the sort of film that Unseen Films was started to highlight- a solid gem of a film. Go see this film it will delight you.

THE GOD INSIDE MY EAR plays this weekend at the Threadbare Mitten Film Festival. For more information and tickets go here.

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