In an era where it seems like most major studio releases are one giant computer-generated sequence after another, there’s something desirable about watching a film with practical effects. Realism is overrated when there’s something tangible before us, even if it doesn’t look natural in the moment, or, as is so often the case with action films, the more tangible something looks, the more visceral a response the audience will have. We know watching films like Extraction 2 (2023) that the oner in a major action set piece is false, but when you see Chris Hemsworth as specialist Tyler Rake knock dudes out while his own fists are on fire, you’re chomping down popcorn and asking for more. Same with smaller films like Sisu (2023) or Mayhem! (2023/2024) whose fisticuffs and melee action garner audience investment *because* each encounter feels as authentic as the last, even if we’re being asked to accept more and more brutality as normal in the process. In that vein, filmmaker Rafael Toledo brings his short, Blockbuster, to Slamdance Film Festival 2024 for its world premiere, asking us if we prefer our effects special or virtual and what we’re willing to accept as the cost.
Luiz Gomide Walther as Abel in BLOCKBUSTER. Photo courtesy of LVCK Films.
In his small apartment, filmmaker Abel (Luiz Gomide Walther) works on developing his own film, staging shots, practicing angles, and generally trying to work out how to make his vision come to life. But what he really wants to do is make some old fashioned cinema magic with an explosion sequence no modern film has dared to do recently and he’s got his eye set on the tall building right outside his window.
Luiz Gomide Walther as Abel in BLOCKBUSTER. Photo courtesy of LVCK Films.
Toledo’s Blockbuster is as much a celebration of cinema and its history as it is a darkly comedic look at the filmmakers who dare try to carry their dreams across the threshold into celluloid reality. Told using a fourth wall-breaking structure, Abel talks directly to us about his view of cinema, what he loves about it, and what he plans to do to make his vision a reality. Intercut with these moments are snippets from a variety of films throughout cinema history, each one presented in their original aspect ratio, each one presented without informative context beyond that presented in the moment. One doesn’t need to know what the films are, who’s in them, or why they matter, but, due to structure of the short, Toledo makes it clear that what we’re seeing is important to Abel, and that’s all that matters. It’s his vision we’re being invited to see, his perception we’re being asked to accept. Amusingly, speaking of perception, watching the film remotely via link, Toledo even seems to have given the film a grey line around the frame, providing a visual element to us that what we’re watching is itself captured within a specific ratio and subject to the rules of cinema. Even before one notices that line, our introduction to the film is the sound of a repeated beep and the glow of a red dot before us — is it something as menacing as a bomb or is more of a flourish akin to the countdown before a movie starts? Either way, Toledo starts us off with a warning, all while using the language of cinema to do it.
Luiz Gomide Walther as Abel in BLOCKBUSTER. Photo courtesy of LVCK Films.
Littered with details like these throughout, Blockbuster could easily be merely an ode to cinema, but through co-cinematographer Lucas Guerra and Julio Folha’s warm and rich work and Walther’s performance, we feel like we’re going on a journey with a mad man who’s either unaware of or simply disinterested in such personal awareness. They shoot Abel as though he’s a hero, making sure he’s lit with a lovely glow suggesting health and virility, while Walther delivers his lines with a tinged edge so we’re never sure if delighting in the magic of cinema is a passion or a fetish. Truly, Walther creates a performance that’s grounded and natural while also possessing elements of actor Vincent Price (House on Haunted Hill; Edward Scissorhands) or filmmaker/actor John Waters (Hairspray; The Creep) — the reference points by this reviewer intended as the greatest of compliments. In concert together, the cinematography and performance create an environment where predictability is the last thing one will concern themselves with, mostly because that’s boring.
Luiz Gomide Walther as Abel in BLOCKBUSTER. Photo courtesy of LVCK Films.
Short films are no easy task merely because they aren’t burdened with a feature-length runtime. In this case, Toledo gets audiences in and out in 10 minutes and, frankly, leaves us wanting more. The story is complete, it’s funny and unnerving, and, most importantly, it continues to celebrate that which Slamdance and other festivals are all about: cinema. Does it matter if the satire bites itself or you? Does it matter how dark the comedy gets? All that matters is whether Abel gets the shot and whether it’ll join the pantheon of important scenes in film history. Will he join the ranks of Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight), Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon 3), and others who understand that sometimes CG is good, sometimes models are better (Star Wars: A New Hope; Independence Day), but that real-world practical effects are best.
Screening during Slamdance Film Festival 2024.
For more information, head to the official Slamdance Blockbuster webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
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