Thing from the Factory by the Field (2022) User Reviews

Thanks Criterion

[baronpantoufle · 2/10 · 21 June 2022]

The level of trust between us just went down several notches.

If this was a project by a bunch of high school kids, it would be charming and forgiveable. But I'm assuming it was done by older people.

Oh, and that ironic ending. If I roll my eyes any harder they will be stuck in the back of my head.

A charming dry satire with a terrific ensemble

[tim-jackson4 · 8/10 · 30 May 2022]

Joel Potrykus has put together a wonderfully dry and funny satire that teases about teen talk, conspiracies, heavy metal culture, with a smattering of old time religion. The young actors play the script with perfect deadpan so the writing never feels forced or overdone. Each actor has found a distinct convincing personality to play. I even loved the costuming and hairstyles.

There's nothing mean or cloying about the story and as it progresses and the humor gets dark and weird while the film remains charming. It's a lovely balance. The 'Thing' is revealed in bits so we ache to see what this thing actually is. The camera always shows us just enough. With patient editing and a leisurely pace everything in this small film works to a satisfying whole.

I've got to see what else Joel Potrykus has up his sleeve. I hope these actors see some real success.

Tim Jackson III on IMDB Reviewer at The Arts Fuse in Boston.

Teenage Wasteland

[damasullo · 8/10 · 17 July 2022]

The brief description that attends this film would have you believe that it's about a Satanic ritual gone awry, but that's misleading.

Rather, it's a short film about trust and the bonds that can form between teenagers--teenagers motivated by irony and angst, or tethered by sincere obedience, with heads full of erroneous information and half-formed thoughts, trying to make sense of a broken world. It's a character study of adolescence in which one test of loyalty is, by chance, replaced with another. It's a film about bravery in the face of uncertainty. It's a film about faith--in a metaphysical sense, yes, but more importantly in a social sense, and how myth and ritual can bind us to each other in demonstrably material ways.

Most people will, like me, come to this short via the Criterion Channel, where it's a bit of an odd duck among that platform's general fare of arthouse films. A cursory scan of the credits and a brief Google search reveal that this was a college-level summer film project. The actors, all in their mid-teens at the time of filming, offer endearingly convincing performances; the writing, direction, cinematography, editing, and music are solid, and while the film can be a bit too clever for its own good at times, it's twenty-six minutes of time well spent for those with an interest in independent film, or teenagers, or both.