Kissing on the Mouth (2005)
"The production of this film, and
now the effort to present it to an audience, has been
a constant process of overcoming our fears. We let
our guard down, and took our clothes off, in an effort
to accurately represent the struggle of young people,
people our age, to gain distance from their parents
and find love with each other. It was important to
us to present realistic images of ourselves, as we
are frustrated with the current representations of
our generation. -Joe Swanberg on the film's official
website.
Immediately bold, open, unabashed
and frank, "Kissing on the Mouth" has images of a
penis and a vagina in the first minute of the film.
But this isn't a film about titillation or a film
about nudity. This is a relationship film. And while
the sexual images are nearly ubiquitous in the film,
what is said here is truly what is important. The
nakedness only acts as a metaphor for the honest and
frank dialogues we are hearing here.
Filmmakers Joe Swanberg, Kris Williams,
Kate Winterich and Kevin Pittman shed all inhibitions
and unembarrassed and with no need to be ashamed act
in their own production. This is a film about four
people. These four remarkably talented people are
all in their early twenties, and their film is about
just that exact time in life, when college is over
and real life has begun.
The characters are Ellen, who has
begun sleeping with her ex- boyfriend Chris; Patrick,
who lives with Ellen and seems to have a sort of crush
on her; and Ellen's friend Laura, who seems to have
a sort of crush on Patrick. But this isn't solely
a film about a love quadrangle. When it is at its
best, the film talks about the end of relationships.
This theme is introduced quite wonderfully by an "oral
history" piece about relationships that Patrick is
working on. Four other actors, who are never seen,
are interviewed and asked questions about their lives
and loves. A segment where a question about parents
is asked is particularly interesting and compelling
and perhaps the best part of the film.
The film, during these moments of
soliloquy, offers us interesting images to view. There
are close-ups of body parts (sometimes sexual body
parts but not always) and images of the four characters
going about their daily life. It is interesting to
note that while parents are discussed here, no one
other than the four main characters appear in the
film (with one exception towards the end). Chronology
is also played with in the film giving us the feeling
that we are seeing not simply a story, but being immersed
in a theme.
The filmmaking here is raw, unique
and forward thinking. Shot on digital video, with
an amazing and artistic eye, it is often hard to believe
that four different people worked in concert on the
filming of the piece. Perhaps it is because it is
edited together quite wonderfully by Swanberg. The
montages here are visually stunning, with close-ups
often giving the film a real feeling of intimacy and
openness. One of my favorite visual devices of the
film finds characters walking forward into focus,
giving us a feeling of understanding as we listen
to the characters talk and interact.
The sexual images here may often
border on pornographic, but they are handled in such
a frank way and with such a visceral feeling that
we are never uncomfortable or embarrassed by them.
This film doesn't go so far as to show insertion,
but there are images as bold as soft-core pornography
and even a masturbation sequence with a cum shot.
If anyone ever has the balls to distribute this film,
I pray that not a single image is edited out. These
four filmmakers have kept it so real that to loose
a single image, for any reason, would be a disservice
to the film. I haven't felt this comfortable watching
sex in a theater full of strangers since I saw Austinites
Maggie Carey and Elena Carr's 2001 film "Ladyporn."
This is probably the most important film about a young
generation since "Slacker."
Now, if I am being honest, and I
must, the acting in "Kissing on the Mouth" leaves
a little to be desires. It is obvious that this is
a "student" film and that many of the scenes are improvised
here. In particular, the scenes between Swanberg and
Winterich often do not work. The exposition here is
never as subtle as it should be and is often quite
glaringly awkward when these two share a scene. It
comes pretty close to ruining the film a couple of
times. But the overall effect of the film and its
brutally honest approach end up winning us over in
the long run making "Kissing on the Mouth" an important
film and one that, hopefully, will get seen by a wide
audience.
Note:
The great score of the film was
created by Swanberg and one of his friends. During
a Q&A at SXSW in 2005, where the film premiered, he
said that he may use other music. I would suggest
he leave it as is. It was perfect.
Filmed in Chicago.
The titles and credits are done
in a really cool way that looks like lipstick on a
plate of glass.
Official site for the film is http://www.kissingonthemouth.com
