I, An Actress

I decided to try and track down some of George Kuchar's stuff because I haven't seen too much of it.  This film is a recording of a rehearsal in which Kuchar actually appears in the frame and directs an actress in front of the camera. As she delivers each line, Kuchar asks her to restate each line getting more dramatic and ridiculous each time. Its hysterical and a very interesting representation of direction. I love that Kuchar fully participates with the actress and really pushes the film to be as absurd as possible. One of the highlights is when both Kuchar and the actress throw themselves at a dummy and the dummy's head falls off. It's also comical that Kuchar chose to use a dummy instead of an actual actor. The camera is fixed in one spot for the whole film and the frame adjustments are all made and observed as Kuchar directs the camera man. There are also sometimes jump cuts and a shaky hand held feel. This combined with the bare setting of the rehearsal all give the film a raw, unedited look. This is a great and funny representation of process and I really appreciated it.