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Living in Oblivion

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Living in Oblivion (1995)

July. 21,1995
|
7.5
|
R
| Comedy
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Nick is the director of a low-budget indie film. He tries to keep everything together as his production is plagued with an insecure actress, a megalomaniac star, a pretentious, beret-wearing director of photography, and lousy catering.

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FuzzyTagz
1995/07/21

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

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Abbigail Bush
1995/07/22

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

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Jonah Abbott
1995/07/23

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

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Portia Hilton
1995/07/24

Blistering performances.

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Gustavo Schroeder A
1995/07/25

I have absolutely no idea why this jewel isn't known by more people. Seriously Living in Oblivion is one of the most underrated films ever. Maybe it's because of its low budget and independent release. I'm not saying the movie's perfect, cause I don't think it is, but it should definitely get more recognition that it does. The film is funny as hell and insightful, it shows you a side of movie making that feels very real, as the characters do feel like actual people struggling with certain situations in their lives. Steve Buscemi is great in the film as the struggling director who is just trying to get his film done. Pretty much the whole cast does a great job. Danielle von Zerneck, who plays Wanda, the Assistant Director, is absolutely brilliant. This is apparently the last film she was in and I really have to wonder why. She did a fantastic job in this one. Like I said, the movie is flawed, in my opinion, as there are certain scenes which feel like they stall the plot. But there are very few of these moments in the film and they don't take away the fact that Living in Oblivion is an excellent film.

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david-sarkies
1995/07/26

This is a low budget film about making a low budget film by a guy who seems to always make low budget films. What this film reveals to us is not only the problems and the stress that comes about with all film making, but that which is generally connected with making low budget films.What sets low budget films apart from other normal films is that because there is a huge limit on funds available, other things are needed to draw the crowds, such as real characters and experimental filming techniques. This film begins in black and white, but when the filming begins, the film switches to colour. In the next section, it is the opposite, with the normal sequences being in colour and the filming sequences in black and white.Living in Oblivion is divided into three parts, and each of these parts a different scene is being filmed. The whole goal of this movie is that a scene in the movie is filmed, and Nick (Steve Buschemi), the director, seems to always run into problems when the filming begins. The way DiCillo makes the movie, which is very similar to what he did in Johnny Suede, leaves you wondering what is real and what is not. He is very clever with his dream sequences as they are indistinguishable from reality, except that everything ends up destroyed. Yet, the dream sequence in the film that is being made is the opposite, with smoke machines and dwarfs.The lead actors in the film are also important. One is a struggling actress who only did a shower scene in a Richard Geare movie. The famous actor is a complete snob and wants everything done his way, and he prances around acting as if he owned the entire movie. It seems that DiCillo is making a comment about actors who think that they make movies and without them the movie wouldn't exist. It is interesting that a Hollywood writer said that there is no such thing as a bankable product, and just because an actor is popular, doesn't mean that he is going to make millions from a movie.Living in Oblivion is a type of movie that I like because it focuses on characters and the relationships that cause problems. The director is not afraid to experiment, nor make comments about people, such as famous actors. Mostly, he tries to reveal to us what it really is like on a set of a low budget movies, and the problems that they face.

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eddiez61
1995/07/27

Small, low budget films hold a special place in many film goer's hearts. We embrace them as our own special offspring. It's an irrational attachment we have for them, like kidnapping our neighbor's child. But cinema, apparently, is some sort of expression of our collective desire to be acknowledged, to be contributing to the public conversation. That's a bizarre, absurd role to demand of independent films, of any film, but that's the weird world we've been born into, isn't it? The ignored, unnoticed independent film is often the container and conveyor of our most salient, real desires. Frustration and anxiety are palpable, ever present qualities of modern life, and low budget films should not be exempt. Tom DiCillo has incorporated these discomforting, disturbing qualities into his poignantly absurd film. The production of the film within the film is at the mercy of unpredictable, arbitrary forces, like malfunctioning smoke machines, incompetent crew members, emotionally distracted actors, and just plain bad luck. Nothing is as effortless and perfect as it is in the "real" movies. This revelation elevates this film into the realm of essential; essential for anyone who is considering making their own independent low budget film, and essential for any fan of quality non Studio, non mega budget films.That it can be so impossible just getting a single scene "into the can" — the expression for capturing on film a worthwhile moment — is a potent metaphor for all our own endeavors. We are continually assaulted with the infinite demands of our mundane lives but are so wiling to sacrifice so much of our precious time to the act of getting it just right, whatever "it" may be. We need to be succeeding at something, anything, in order to feel worthy. And maniacal persistence is the indispensable means to success. However, it's usually a non productive hobby, past time or diversion that occupies us so insistently.Living in Oblivion is a rare opportunity to examine this impulse of ours to perfect relatively minor, inconsequential things. The conceit of the film is that we, the audience, like to believe that we are above and beyond such tedious, temporal concerns, yet we are equally, undeniably fascinated by the intricacies of the "inner" film's creation. "How would I do it?" is a question that frames every scene. But our involvement is irrelevant. That's the paradox at this film's core. That's the ultimate message here, that we, the audience, are inconsequential. That might sound bleak and morose to some, but I found it deeply satisfying. I am not responsible, in the end, for this film's success. I am only watching.Tom DiCillo has earned a reputation as an iconoclast, as a rebel, as an anti establishment defender of the individual. I'm not sure just how justified is this reputation - he has lately directed arguably crappy TV such as Law and Order - but still, he proves himself a potent source of genuinely profound insights in this film. You will learn what it feels like to be an ambitious, hopeful, idealistic artist working in a crass, indifferent, commercial world. That's a rare treat.The fact that Steve Buschemi, Katherine Keener, and Dermot Mulroney are so wonderfully natural is proof that Dicillo has golden instincts. We are granted access to these artist's most transcendent talents. I've seen them all in many different, fantastic roles, but here they are at their absolute best, their most real. That's a quality that nearly all films aspire too, but so very few achieve. Enjoy this film for this commendable fact along with the knowledge that it's nearly impossible to make a film like this today or ever again. (David Lynch did it in 2006 with his Inland Empire which has been ignored by the general film going public. It's a monumentally original, powerful, revolutionary film experience. Charlie Kaufman also accomplished a tremendous feat of originality with his phenomenal Synecdoche, NY from 2008. Both films are subtle expressions of artistic desire in the face of a coldly indifferent, if not outright maliciously violent culture.)

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spamomite
1995/07/28

This movie is definitely one of my all-time favorites. I've enjoyed watching this movie over and over. This is Steve Buscemi at his finest. I've learned to love the other actors, too. You either get this movie or you don't. It's different and that's what makes it work. I love independent movies like this that don't follow the Hollywood formula.Basically, the movie was originally made as a short, but was too long. So, they added two more "scenes" making it into a full-length film. Seeing how the characters interact in the various takes was great. A film about making a film. And, it worked! Highly recommended for its unique indie flavor. More please!

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