Exquisite Corpse
(Short Film /Advance Screener)
(2006)
review by Catwalk

Call it a parlor game or a surrealist exercise, the game known as Exquisite Corpse has been played for a century.  An author would write a phrase on a piece of paper, and part of the paper would be folded over, so that the next writer down the chain would contribute without knowing the entire story up to that point, only a portion.  This led to the famous example (translated) -

“The exquisite corpse will drink the young wine”

The video compilation Exquisite Corpse is a gathering of short poems or stories, narrated and shot in a variety of techniques, edited by Jim Minton and his studio.  The filmmakers hail from a variety of countries, including the US, UK, Turkey, Chile, Canada and Holland.

Each story is a video take on a poem or short from Bram Stoker Award-winning poet Michael Arnzen.  The Amityville, NY born writer continually releases shorts through his own site online, and his work is available in written or e-book form.  Exquisite Corpse represents the compilation of multimedia artists and their translations of Arnzen’s work.

The video techniques include simply filtered camera shots, to quick cuts, computer animation and a combination of stills.  The film opens with the short, Amputating the Demon by Mike Bohatch, which uses a combination of motion and quick-cut stills.  The imagery is surgical and biological all at once; perfect for music videos of the gothic metal and industrial set.

Other shorts include the cartoonish “Velcro”, about the electric chair, the stoic “Gasp”, and the intriguing “In The Balance”, about an unusual technique to make judgment on a life.  Dominic Shaw’s brief video for “Stretch” mixes posted signs and live action well to depict Arnzen’s poem on drowning.

One of the more interesting pieces is “The Scab”, shot by Minton himself, which tells of the ten-year old carnie girl whose entire body is, in fact, a combination of nothing but scabs.  The film ends with the tongue-in-cheek piece by Nick Montgomery, about the sleepless nights of a new mother.

Exquisite Corpse has been hitting the festival circuit, and continues to do so into next year.  In all, it’s a very fun view for fans of Arnzen or the genre in general.

Information – www.myspace.com/exquisitecorpsemovie
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