Blumenthal (Seth Fisher, 2012):USA

Reviewed by Grace Williamson at the Metro IV, Santa Barbara International Film Festival

“You lost a brother and the only thing you can feel is constipated.”

Director, Actor, and Writer Seth Fisher in the Filmmakers Lounge

 Shoes, Shoes, Shoes.

Sitting right in front of you is Seth Fisher, the writer, director and actor in Blumenthal.  Now before you get carried away thinking this is some sort or scientific terminology, like I did, look at his shoes.

Blumenthal in short was about, “That pair of shoes with a dull pain that never ends.”  Though this movie closely focuses on the family responses to a  recent passing of a famous play-write named Henry Blumenthal, I’d like to think it all started with shoes.

As we sat and chatted with Fisher he began to tell us the tale of how this film came to be.  When he talked about his problems with his funding and location obstacles, I was a little hesitant to see if the film showed the struggles behind the cameras to the viewers.  As a story person myself the way Fisher talked about how enthusiastic he was to share his story I understood that yearning for not just approval but reaction, whatever that may be.

“We live in the age of dissatisfaction,” was a quote from Blumenthal that did not apply to this film at all.  Dissatisfaction was the furthest taste from my mouth at the end of this mouth watering film.  I was not expecting Fisher to have such an essential role in this film; I found it particularly delightful to try to differentiate him from his character Ethan.

Fast paced wit, and hyper-analyzation made this film a catch phrased craze; with something so well written it is incredibly hard to find flaws. The first thing that came to mind when watching this was Gilmore Girls, not because of the topics but simply because of the quick bantar between characters.  It sounds as if they don’t hear each other before responding which might be troubling if English is not your first language, subtitles would be a good match for this movie.

Though Ethan is not necessarily intended to be the main character, the movie would not have the same charm if he was any less of a role.  “I sometimes process others good news as my bad news.”  Ethan’s one liners kept this film moving through parts that would not entertain all audiences, such as Ethan’s parents struggles with growing older.

I was unsure what kind of movie this would be before and even while seeing it; it could have been a drama, a documentary, my mind was trying to put my finger on it before I had seen it, but I would say it is the future of comedy as we know it.  I hope more films go in this direction, phenomenal writing and great acting.  This movie was a gem, and the best conversation starter for the remainder of the film festival. When people asked what was good, this was the first thing that came to mind.