Wavelength: Security Camera as Art

The next movie on our list is Wavelength, an avant garde piece that all takes place in one room.  It's often referred to as one of the greatest Canadian films ever made, which to be honest is a lot like saying those guys from Cool Runnings were one of the greatest Jamaican bobsled teams ever.  Anyway, I watched this in film class while I was in college, and I don't remember being too impressed.

I'm having a hard time getting over the fact that basically what I'm doing right now is watching forty five minutes of a glorified security camera.  In a building where nothing happens.  Oh, look, some people showed up.  Let's watch them sit around listening to the Beatles.  Because, you know, that's interesting.  Oops, they're gone again.  We are alone with our thoughts and a persistent buzzing noise.

It gets dark.  I think that now would be a great time for some ghosts to show up and throw a chair across the room.  That would redeem this movie.  Or even, like, a pigeon sneaking in and taking a crap somewhere.  Anything to break up the monotony of the slow zoom towards the picture on the wall.

Wow, did that guy just wander into the movie and die??  I wish I was him.

This movie is so boring it broke Shockwave Flash on my computer.  True story.  My Shockwave Flash committed suicide so that it didn't have to play this anymore.

Cool, a postcard.  This makes me think of an annoying little kid who is hellbent on showing you something, and then when he finally drags you over to look at it, you're like, "That's it?  That's what was so important?"


While watching this film, I can't help but think of the Emperor's New Clothes.  Everyone says how great this movie is and no one wants to be the one who is an uncultured swine and doesn't like it.  I get it, I mean I understand that Michael Snow is trying to subvert your expectations of what a film is and what it should be and blah blah blah.  But the fact that he purposely put that buzzing in the film just to annoy audiences makes me feel like I don't need to be gentle with him, and I can say what I really think: this film is a waste of time.  I am now 45 minutes closer to death with nothing to show for it.