Notes on an Appearance

Bilouaustria

I understand that the look of the film is quite polarizing, this Bresson-for-beginners distinctive touch that some called minimalism. But if you look beyond that, the narration, with its big holes, force you to stay alert and focus on every details. There comes no explanation for his disappearing, or about the curious figure of Mr. Taubes. Just notes, notes from David, writings from Taubes, and that many questions.

MATTEO BITTANTI

Stephen Taubes as Slavoj Zizek ("whose radical espousal of violence as a legitimate political tool pitted him against liberalism and conservatism alike" Adam Cook, Cinemascope)? A powerful indictment of the American Liberal pseudo-left and their inability to change the status quo, or even grasp the situation (cfr. the debate scene). D'Ambrose's film is as incisive and penetrating as Angela Nagle's Kill All Normies.

Jorge Mourinha

No-budget NYC hipster Antonioni, which makes it seem worse than it really is; gets insidiously under your skin like L'AVVENTURA melting into BLOW-UP via Brooklyn public transit, ending as mysterious polaroid of a moment in time.

Robert John Torres

Clean frames with a bracingly minimalist approach to mise en scene present a playful and vexing narrative construct. Analog objects (a melee of maps, books, magazines, photographs etc.) click by between scenes performed and staged with a rigorous clarity and flair for starkness. The formal language is unique and confident. The storytelling suggests a process of evaporation: less & less...until everything is gone.

DebraM

An interesting debut from Ricky D'Ambrose. With its clean and minimalist style, I can well understand why this did so well on the festival circuit. While I think it was a little bit too self-aware, it's still a solid piece and held my interest.

sanqfroid

An experimental mystery film that charms with an American indie, New York minimalist aesthetic that fashions a false sense of security through its simplicity. A simplicity that appears to blur by the end of the film and to become darker in meaning with each viewing. Seemingly, it is a study of American left politics and the intelligentsia's hankering for nihilism. Great pacing and camera work. I love the Q&A scene.

Renton47

Concerned as it is with the paraphernalia of a certain 'hipster' aesthetic, I enjoyed being located in this world of black coffee + Spinoza, NYRB, political theorists who incite violence. I am not sure I have seen a film told in this language before. But the 'appearance' was more playful and engaging than where it leads, a fetishism of objects and images that don't transpire to greater meaning.

Not A Sexy Vampire

A unique but not entirely satisfying film. Reading some analyses helped with my understanding of the film's many disparate elements (particularly from Film Comment), yet I can't help feeling that some of the ideas are more interesting in theory than in cinematic practice. Analysis of intellectuals who still fall under the wing of right-wing ideology is complex and challenging but would benefit from stronger focus.