This disjointed tale of the strange (sex) lives of strange people is amusing, nay hysterically funny for about ten or fifteen minutes as the oddness and non sequitur nature of the story telling and cheapness of the film bombard the viewer in an almost overwhelming barrage of weirdness. Then the film begins to drone on as we settle into naked old people, the violation of stuffed bears, and cross cut sequences that don't really add up to much. Whats the point of all of this? Your guess is as good as mine. I'm some how of the opinion that the point of the film is simply to push buttons for good or ill, and push buttons it does. I have yet to meet anyone one who's actually made it all the way through the film, most abandon it somewhere along the way as simply too much to take. Film as endurance test? perhaps. I for one suspect thats probably the case with out humble director trying more to put one over on his audience rather than enlighten them. I of course could be wrong, but with out some sort of guide to the true "meaning" we're left to deal with the shock visuals which is all anyone will probably talk about anyway. For those who want want disturbing images and don't mind them wrapped in a boring confection.
6 Reviews
Period piece
polysicsarebest20 March 2008
Lloyd Kaufman personally recommended this film to me because I said that my favorite filmmaker was Jodorowsky -- and while this isn't really anything like Jodorowsky, it is still absolutely genius and is essential viewing for anyone interested at all in "avant-garde cinema".
First and foremost, you will hate this first 10 minutes or so of this film. Everyone I've showed this to has agreed with me on this: This film looks like crap when you first turn it on. And the odd pacing and questionable plot points make it that much harder to love. However, as the film goes on, you find yourself actually enjoying the look of the film and the weird pacing. And you might even find yourself laughing a bit....
Honestly, this is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. At the same time, there is a quiet darkness at work here. Though it's easy to laugh at a senile old man shoving pork rinds in his rectum and having sex with an imaginary porn star, eventually you realize that we could very well be that same 90-year-old man one day; alone in a hotel room and having no idea what is happening inside our minds. That's the brilliance of this film: Nothing here seems to necessarily be played for laughs or drama or anything like that; the film simply presents a few unconnected stories and lets you interpret them how you like. It helps that every story is extremely interesting and absurd.
Something no other reviewer has noted on here yet is how well-done the whole thing is. It's easy to make shot-on-video stuff look and sound like complete garbage, but everything is well-lit and in focus. All the actor's lines are clearly audible, and the music is fitting and well-made (I love the slide guitar theme every time the Frenchman comes on screen).
Talking tater tots with toothpick penises, full-frontal nudity from 90-year-old men, sex with teddy bears, smoking dead pigs, munching on raw hamburger meat -- it's all here. An absolutely uncompromising gem of a film that I give my highest recommendation to. As much as I hate Harmony Korine's films, I always respected the ideas behind them -- this film pushes those ideas even further and actually makes compelling cinema out of it. A must-watch for fans of absurd cinema.
First and foremost, you will hate this first 10 minutes or so of this film. Everyone I've showed this to has agreed with me on this: This film looks like crap when you first turn it on. And the odd pacing and questionable plot points make it that much harder to love. However, as the film goes on, you find yourself actually enjoying the look of the film and the weird pacing. And you might even find yourself laughing a bit....
Honestly, this is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. At the same time, there is a quiet darkness at work here. Though it's easy to laugh at a senile old man shoving pork rinds in his rectum and having sex with an imaginary porn star, eventually you realize that we could very well be that same 90-year-old man one day; alone in a hotel room and having no idea what is happening inside our minds. That's the brilliance of this film: Nothing here seems to necessarily be played for laughs or drama or anything like that; the film simply presents a few unconnected stories and lets you interpret them how you like. It helps that every story is extremely interesting and absurd.
Something no other reviewer has noted on here yet is how well-done the whole thing is. It's easy to make shot-on-video stuff look and sound like complete garbage, but everything is well-lit and in focus. All the actor's lines are clearly audible, and the music is fitting and well-made (I love the slide guitar theme every time the Frenchman comes on screen).
Talking tater tots with toothpick penises, full-frontal nudity from 90-year-old men, sex with teddy bears, smoking dead pigs, munching on raw hamburger meat -- it's all here. An absolutely uncompromising gem of a film that I give my highest recommendation to. As much as I hate Harmony Korine's films, I always respected the ideas behind them -- this film pushes those ideas even further and actually makes compelling cinema out of it. A must-watch for fans of absurd cinema.
a non-linear plot that involves a French tourist, a senior citizen filling his crack with pork rinds, and a teddy bear being violated with a can of Cambpells soup
jupitron519 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
An ambitious piece of work from a man who seems to genuinely want to create original art. Whether his ambition is fueled by true inspiration or just pure delusion is uncertain but whatever its source I am happy to have seen this movie and look forward to showing it to friends. This movie attempts to do what all good art should do, which is offer the experiencer a new perspective on humanity. This additional perspective can then be added to the innumerable other perspectives that a person has accumulated and which ultimately serve to expand his or her consciousness. Or maybe not, I don't know really. But it bothers me when people see movies like this and label them as being weird just for the sake of being weird. Instead of determining the validity of the piece based on its actual substance, this type of person uses a cheap character attack on the artist by bringing into question his motives for creating. This is an argumental fallacy and is not a valid criticism of the movie itself.
less is more more or less
danner_tanner12 September 2007
i have seen "touch me in the morning" and "trailer town", and this is personally my favorite; it's Andrew's "Amacord"; it's his "Pink Flamingos"...
watching it expecting anything at all is not advised. you must dive into this movie blindfolded, and remain blindfolded for 80 minutes. i'm going to jump to my own conclusion and say there's no message, nor a theme one may glean from this film. however, i can say it is honestly unlike anything i've seen. it always takes me a few scenes to re-acclimate to his home video style. but it isn't as if Andrews is trying to make a polished indie - he holds a consistent aesthetic between technique and content, subject and style. he makes you cringe unlike any cringe you've experienced from any other movie (no gore nor sex can top what he achieves).
Andrews will obviously never reach "the masses" with this style, and most of those he reaches will dismiss it as "shock for shock's sake". however, he is making movies unlike anyone ever has before; he takes his audience on a no-class induced hallucination through motel room and trailers, unveiling a world utterly no one is accustomed to. now there's something to be said for that. he's taken "verite" to a whole new level, and all the founding fathers of cinema would, after a series of gag reflexes, applaud him enthusiastically (except Orson Welles, cause he lacked a sense of humor....), but that's just one man's opinion.
watching it expecting anything at all is not advised. you must dive into this movie blindfolded, and remain blindfolded for 80 minutes. i'm going to jump to my own conclusion and say there's no message, nor a theme one may glean from this film. however, i can say it is honestly unlike anything i've seen. it always takes me a few scenes to re-acclimate to his home video style. but it isn't as if Andrews is trying to make a polished indie - he holds a consistent aesthetic between technique and content, subject and style. he makes you cringe unlike any cringe you've experienced from any other movie (no gore nor sex can top what he achieves).
Andrews will obviously never reach "the masses" with this style, and most of those he reaches will dismiss it as "shock for shock's sake". however, he is making movies unlike anyone ever has before; he takes his audience on a no-class induced hallucination through motel room and trailers, unveiling a world utterly no one is accustomed to. now there's something to be said for that. he's taken "verite" to a whole new level, and all the founding fathers of cinema would, after a series of gag reflexes, applaud him enthusiastically (except Orson Welles, cause he lacked a sense of humor....), but that's just one man's opinion.
Society is a smoking dead pig.
Ton_O5 February 2008
Many highly original metaphors for the depraved state of our society has come to decorate this film, which is probably the best portrayal of the loneliness that our so called civilized world drives many unique persons to if they are no longer of any use. The cast is made up of professional actors who seem to be very close to the subject matter in real life, and as is the case with other films of Giusseppe Andrews, the fact that the entire feature is filmed with a small digital camera rather than expensive equipment adds a whole extra dimension of grittiness to the already dread atmosphere. Andrews is known for his acting in such films as Independence Day, American Histoy X, Cabin Fever and his own Touch me in the Morning, but also makes his own unfortunately rarely seen unique films. Period Piece is not only directed by him, but he also produced it, wrote it, scripted it, photographed it, acted in it, edited it and composed and recorded the musical score for it. And in the process proved that he is a one-man-film studio and deserves nothing but the deepest respect for daring to show a truly original view on the world we live in by delivering us this stunningly personal masterpiece. The DVD comes with a load of extra's that do this unsettling but beautiful film justice, including a second feature film by Giusseppe Andrews, "Jacuzzi Rooms", which is a daring as the main feature, but totally different in style. The interview Lloyd Kaufman conducts with the director adds more depth and gives more clues to understanding this genius filmmaker. We will definitely hear more of Giusseppe Andrews in the future, and owe the fact that we are introduced to his work to Troma.
Dark "stupid" comedy by an eccentric purist
quridley12 June 2018
In the vein of John Waters or early Harmony Korine, Giuseppe Andrews attempts high level art house cinema on the most meager and grimy production values. It's confrontational, offensive, nauseating, exploitative but also existential, lyrical, experimental and occasionally profound. It's a bunch of drugged out skits and one note gags, but assembled in a clever and very watchable format that I can't compare to any other film. Very rewarding for fans of auteurist and outsider art.
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