I saw Dimmer and Pol Pots Birthday separately at two different film festivals over 2 years. I noted down the name of the Director both times each time having no idea who Talmage was. I don't generally take the time to follow up such things but I was really seriously entertained by Pol Pots Birthday and then moved by Dimmer. Actually Dimmer shook me and really felt like a solid narrative doc by someone who was thinking seriously about the subject matter and was not just exploiting it. A general review of Dimmer from memory goes like this. We follow a group of blind or sight impaired kids around a US suburban neighborhood. They are normal kids with normal concerns, and needs. Including a problems with girls. One kid, the protagonist, I am not sure of his name, is breaking up with his girl. Who by the end of the piece he decides he is over anyway. It's pretty heart-wrenching but compelling at the same time. And what I like most is that there is hope and growth for all of the kids by the end. Not hopelessness. I really like Talmage's work and I look forward to seeing more of it! Shaun.
3 Reviews
Talmage's work is exceptional -watch out there is a spoiler in this review
Nitrogen_Film3 July 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Worth Finding
Michael_Elliott25 February 2008
Dimmer (2005)
*** (out of 4)
Short film takes a look at the life of a guy named Mike who has been blind since birth. He spends most of his day either working at a pizza joint, talking with his girlfriend or hanging out with a gang of friends who are also blind. This film runs only ten-minutes but it feels a lot longer. Seeing how this blind boy goes through life is an interesting thing but the director never really makes us care for the guy and I'd say he comes off looking bad rather than good. There's really nothing here to connect with either.
*** (out of 4)
Short film takes a look at the life of a guy named Mike who has been blind since birth. He spends most of his day either working at a pizza joint, talking with his girlfriend or hanging out with a gang of friends who are also blind. This film runs only ten-minutes but it feels a lot longer. Seeing how this blind boy goes through life is an interesting thing but the director never really makes us care for the guy and I'd say he comes off looking bad rather than good. There's really nothing here to connect with either.
Engaging Short Film Showing a View of the Handicapped that We Never See
TimeNTide6 January 2009
I've seen this short on the Sundance Channel in the US a few times. At first look, it wasn't very entertaining or memorable. The second time I saw it I realized that I had missed the point and gained a lot of respect for this film.
The US media only likes to tackle the subject of handicapped people when they are being shown as victims who need to be protected or as heroic characters who overcome and achieve while displaying admirable qualities. In this film the director gives us a new take... we see a slice of life of several blind and sight impaired teenage boys who are neither victims or heroes, they are simply aimless youth like so many others in America. There are indeed some interesting and educational bits concerned with blindness, like Mike describing how he finds his driveway by recognizing the cracks and seams in the sidewalk, and Mike teaching his pal Joey to listen for echoes when tapping the walking cane.
However, most of the film is showing us that these blind guys lead the same shiftless lives as so many other "normal" teenagers do. They hang out, curse, talk smack, ride bikes, break things in abandoned buildings, work boring menial jobs, talk about rappers, fist fights and the opposite sex, and dream of travel to exotic locations without ever doing anything to work toward that goal. And like most teenage cliques, they hang out together because they don't fit in well with others. And we are shown that their emotions are no different than ours. When Mike is dumped by his seeing girlfriend over the phone, he goes through the same emotional range that the typical guy would... anger, sadness, bitterness, sour grapes ("She was ugly anyway.") and moving on ("Hey, bitches!").
The point: the fact that someone has a handicap doesn't automatically turn them into a wonderful person with admirable qualities striving to overcome their limitations, which is what the media typically wants us to believe.
Engaging and admirable short film once you understand it.
The US media only likes to tackle the subject of handicapped people when they are being shown as victims who need to be protected or as heroic characters who overcome and achieve while displaying admirable qualities. In this film the director gives us a new take... we see a slice of life of several blind and sight impaired teenage boys who are neither victims or heroes, they are simply aimless youth like so many others in America. There are indeed some interesting and educational bits concerned with blindness, like Mike describing how he finds his driveway by recognizing the cracks and seams in the sidewalk, and Mike teaching his pal Joey to listen for echoes when tapping the walking cane.
However, most of the film is showing us that these blind guys lead the same shiftless lives as so many other "normal" teenagers do. They hang out, curse, talk smack, ride bikes, break things in abandoned buildings, work boring menial jobs, talk about rappers, fist fights and the opposite sex, and dream of travel to exotic locations without ever doing anything to work toward that goal. And like most teenage cliques, they hang out together because they don't fit in well with others. And we are shown that their emotions are no different than ours. When Mike is dumped by his seeing girlfriend over the phone, he goes through the same emotional range that the typical guy would... anger, sadness, bitterness, sour grapes ("She was ugly anyway.") and moving on ("Hey, bitches!").
The point: the fact that someone has a handicap doesn't automatically turn them into a wonderful person with admirable qualities striving to overcome their limitations, which is what the media typically wants us to believe.
Engaging and admirable short film once you understand it.
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