SOUR DEATH BALLS
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1997 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
Jessica Yu, who recently won the Academy Award for her 1996 documentary short subject BREATHING LESSONS: THE LIFE AND WORK OF MARK O'BRIEN, brought three of her films to a recent local screening. My favorite of the three was her short film SOUR DEATH BALLS, which she made in the early 90's.
Most films are complex amalgamations of characters, events, dialog, and all of the other aspects that go into film making. But not SOUR DEATH BALLS.
SOUR DEATH BALLS, one of the first films Yu ever made, boils the documentary art form down to its essence. Without words and with Pam Tom's grainy black and white camera work done on a fixed mount, the audience has only the subjects to watch. There are no distractions. Even the minimalist background looks more like the wallpaper for a computer screen desktop than a movie set.
So what could be so charming? Big gumballs. But not just any gumballs, ones so sour that your eyes bulge out and your mouth tries to repel the invader.
Yu, who was there at the screening, told us that she was inspired by two daughters of a friend who had the foul tasting balls and were telling people to "put this in your mouth." Yu got the idea to go to a school and film the reactions of young kids as they try to suck on this awful substance. For variety she also added some of her adult friends. The results are indescribably funny.
Some children try to keep the ball in, no matter how painful. Others try discreetly to get rid of it. Everyone's face explodes into wild contortions as soon as the ball hits their tongue. My favorite is a kid who spits the ball out and then reaches into his mouth with his fist trying to somehow pull out the offending taste which has already been indelibly marked on his taste buds.
As in most Jessica Yu films, her choice of music sets a perfect pace. There are energetic trumpets that seem to burn with the same intensity as the nefarious balls.
We asked her how much the film cost. $50 for the film stock, and that was it. She has taken the short to over 50 international film festivals where it has been an audience favorite and garnered many awards.
Sometimes it takes simplicity to remind us of the magic of the motion picture medium and of how a straightforward idea can blossom into something wondrously delightful.
SOUR DEATH BALLS runs a little under 10 minutes. It is not rated, but would be G. The film should mesmerize those young and old. I recommend it to you and give it ***.
**** = A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = Totally and painfully unbearable picture.
REVIEW WRITTEN ON: April 20, 1997
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews