'Strange Way of Life' opens with the beautiful rendition of "Extrana Forma de Vida", a 1962 song that was performed by Caetano Veloso. Once I had the song translated it made all the more sense as to why this was chosen for the film-it is a song of a heart that is lost and wandering, looking for purpose and the meaning of life. The singer has a feeling of loneliness and the heart is the source of pain and struggle, but the heart refuses to be controlled and its stubborness leads to suffering. The singer then pleads with the heart to stop beating as to stop the pain.
After knowing the song it gives the opening sequence so much meaning. Sadly, the song is not available on the iTunes version of the soundtrack but it is available on the physical CD version of the movie soundtrack.
The cinematography of the film is stunningly beautiful, the use of close ups on both Silva and Jake leave the audience with an immediate sense of compassion and caring, which is important in such a short length film. The backdrops and colors may seem familiar to the audience as the location and sets are the same as Sergio Leone used while in Spains' Almeria Desert when filming 'Once upon a time in the West'. The colors used are proof that this is a Almodorar film-including that of the costume design by Anthony Vaccarello of Saint Laurent. Ethen is put into cool blues, as the only Anglo in the film he is guarded and detached with underlying feelings of being hurt by his past. Silva was placed in passionate reds, greens, and yellows which very much signify the warm Latino culture. Joe (Silvas son) was in all black, the stereotypical villain, even though it was never really determined if he was actually the bad guy or just a troubled young man.
Once the film starts the storyline moves very quickly, after all it is only 31 minutes long. There is a quick happy reunion of Jake and Silva at the Sheriffs Office, Silva hiding his face from an exiting townsperson as he enters the office, then suddenly it is suppertime where the wine flows. We learn that Silva drinks to remember his past and Jake has quit drinking to try and forget the same past.
The next morning there are clothes thrown around the bedroom and we see Silva in bed (yes, the infamous butt shot). When he finds Jake in the bath it is obvious that Silva is lovesick and wanting to spend time with Jake and likewise Jake is still hurt and distant as he angrily kicks Silva out of this house.
Silva then rides back home across the desert with Jake following him-each having their own flashbacks of the past, without a single word of dialogue the audience can feel the emotions of those memories.
There is no real definition of the time passage during the film, yet another difficulty when doing a short film, everything has to be abbreviated. As Silva arrives back home he does what must be a difficult task for any parent to do-he kicks his son out of the house to possibly never see him again. Do we, or even Silva, know Joe is guily? No, but that doesn't really matter, he is trying to save his son. Jake then shows up to take Joe back to town to face a trial. A fight between the three men insues and Joe escapes, leaving Silva to care for Jake. At this time we experience both an anger and tenderness that one usually wouldn't expect from a typical western movie.
Where does the story go from here? There is certainly more than enough interest in a full length feature film to carry on a sequel. Maybe we can all manifest this into happening. I would absolutely recommend this film as a must see on the big screen.
After knowing the song it gives the opening sequence so much meaning. Sadly, the song is not available on the iTunes version of the soundtrack but it is available on the physical CD version of the movie soundtrack.
The cinematography of the film is stunningly beautiful, the use of close ups on both Silva and Jake leave the audience with an immediate sense of compassion and caring, which is important in such a short length film. The backdrops and colors may seem familiar to the audience as the location and sets are the same as Sergio Leone used while in Spains' Almeria Desert when filming 'Once upon a time in the West'. The colors used are proof that this is a Almodorar film-including that of the costume design by Anthony Vaccarello of Saint Laurent. Ethen is put into cool blues, as the only Anglo in the film he is guarded and detached with underlying feelings of being hurt by his past. Silva was placed in passionate reds, greens, and yellows which very much signify the warm Latino culture. Joe (Silvas son) was in all black, the stereotypical villain, even though it was never really determined if he was actually the bad guy or just a troubled young man.
Once the film starts the storyline moves very quickly, after all it is only 31 minutes long. There is a quick happy reunion of Jake and Silva at the Sheriffs Office, Silva hiding his face from an exiting townsperson as he enters the office, then suddenly it is suppertime where the wine flows. We learn that Silva drinks to remember his past and Jake has quit drinking to try and forget the same past.
The next morning there are clothes thrown around the bedroom and we see Silva in bed (yes, the infamous butt shot). When he finds Jake in the bath it is obvious that Silva is lovesick and wanting to spend time with Jake and likewise Jake is still hurt and distant as he angrily kicks Silva out of this house.
Silva then rides back home across the desert with Jake following him-each having their own flashbacks of the past, without a single word of dialogue the audience can feel the emotions of those memories.
There is no real definition of the time passage during the film, yet another difficulty when doing a short film, everything has to be abbreviated. As Silva arrives back home he does what must be a difficult task for any parent to do-he kicks his son out of the house to possibly never see him again. Do we, or even Silva, know Joe is guily? No, but that doesn't really matter, he is trying to save his son. Jake then shows up to take Joe back to town to face a trial. A fight between the three men insues and Joe escapes, leaving Silva to care for Jake. At this time we experience both an anger and tenderness that one usually wouldn't expect from a typical western movie.
Where does the story go from here? There is certainly more than enough interest in a full length feature film to carry on a sequel. Maybe we can all manifest this into happening. I would absolutely recommend this film as a must see on the big screen.