This Ken Jacobs film can be found on "American Film Treasures/Avant Garde Film: Disc 2"--a compilation of mostly forgotten art films of the 20th century. This DVD set is NOT for the casual viewer and sometimes I wonder why I watched the films--as some of them were VERY artsy and weird! It is interesting that the commentary on the DVD said that when it was first shown, half the audience loved it and half became hostile and screamed and booed through the film. I can understand this. Imagine a film scored by a scratchy old 78rmp song with some images that often make no sense--such as a guy putting out a cigarette into the eye of a baby doll and then performing an oral act on the dolls crotch. Disney this certainly ain't!! The film shows a man and a woman--the man with a gray nose and scarf and a woman in a plastic scarf. The woman mostly does nothing and the guy acts really goofy throughout. Then, in the middle, the film maker begins talking in a rambling manner for a bit as you see feet. He then plays various annoying sounds as you see odd images of a woman (perhaps the one from earlier in the film) as he continues to ramble. Finally, the guy talks about how the folks in the film don't like him any more. Then, like the first portion, it consists of similar stuff from the first portion--with no sound at all this time. Either this is great art or he's crazy...I'd go for the latter. As is true of most of these films, it's really impossible to rate this, but this one is probably one of the least enjoyable and rambling in the collection.
Review of Little Stabs at Happiness
