Pavilion
SXSW 2012 film review
Pavilion
Director & Screenwriter: Tim Sutton Max, a quietly troubled 15-year-old, leaves his lakeside town to live with his father on the sun-blasted fringe of suburban Arizona. What begins in a calm and lush environment ends in a drastic, frayed confusion. Cast: Max Schaffner, Zach Cali, Cody Hamric, Addie Barlett, Aaron Buyea (World Premiere)
Film Synopsis (from SXSW.com)
WHO'S IT FOR? It's for those of you who like looking at skateboard or BMX videos for their artful value, or think that there is much to be said by looking at a pure portrayal of the American teenager. This would be a great movie to play in the background of a hip party.
OVERALL
Even for SXSW, Pavilion is a pretty darn artsy movie that captures general teen activities with a photographer's eye. With its unflinching camera of real moments done by real kids, it's a pseudo-documentary that essentially wants to turn biking, awkwardly talking to girls, and even lying around as sort of an art installment. Though I said above that this would be great to play during parties, it would certainly fit in at a contemporary art museum.
Pavilion is hit and miss with its intent. Sometimes its careful visuals and atmospheric narrative are able to fully capture the attention of its audience in a state of artful hypnosis. In other instances, it will leave them counting the lights in the ceiling, or thinking about what other movies have pulled off what Pavilion aims for, but with more fulfillment.
For me, I make the immediate comparison to Sofia Coppola's previous film Somewhere, in which dialogue and story take the back seat to a collection of naturally presented seemingly small events. The mellow Pavilion can offer too little overall for audiences to fully hook onto, and some of its recorded events (the constant bike riding, or a trip into the woods, for example) feel superfluous to what the film's honest central concept may or may not be.
FINAL SCORE: 5/10