The Patience Stone

One of the best things about Wakefield Film Society is the wide range of films shown. And this week we had two films for the price of one!

The Patience Stone was a French/Afghani co-production. We've had some excellent films from the Middle East in the last 2 or 3 years. In October, we had Wadjda, a fascinating story of a young girl growing up in Iran. Last year's About Ellie featured Golshifteh Farahani the star of tonight's film — a very natural actress. One of the most memorable images for me was when she  threw on her veil and went out into the streets —  transformed from a beautiful woman into an anonymous figure.

Perhaps we are too ready to look down on other societies if they don't conform to our standards; it's easy to forget that it was not so long ago that wives in western societies were also treated as men's property.


Before the main feature we had Feedback from Vincent Gallagher, who introduced the film. It was a fascinating sequence of visuals with an excellent soundtrack.  Vincent Gallagher, sent me some information about it:

“So after a year working as a receptionist, I wanted to take on a bigger film project than before and another passion of mine is backpacking. So after some working out I combined hobbies and I decided to quit my job to travel and film for three months. I knew it would be cheaper for me to make it in Asia which would allow me the time off to focus on making the film. Once out there I was filming almost every day, keeping in mind the style I was going for. There was a lot of filming done in the spur of the moment however I had a clear vision in my head of what I was wanting it to look like, drawing inspiration from 'Koyaanisqatsi' and 'Samsara'. When I returned I got to work on the edit. The edit was meant to take 3 months however it overran massively due to a broken laptop, problems in the edit and awaiting the soundtrack. Come a year later and we had finally finished. With the film only running for 15 minutes and two years planning and working on it it took longer than expected. I like the idea of making a feature film however it's a slow process and with having a full time job at the same time It might take me a while. There a free link to the film underneath and a link to all my films on my film company Tape End Productions. I have just started a new venture which my work will be going out on which is a group of filmmakers, the company named Hell On Earth. 

Synopsis:

Feedback is an experimental ambient documentary with no conventional plot, shot in six different countries and has been in the making for over a year. Running through themes of people, insects and culture. The film shows the never ending cycle of energy in life. Inspired by Godfrey Reggio's 'Koyaanisqatsi' and the works of Chris Cunningham comes a low budget short that takes the viewer on a visual trip around the world. Produced by the independent film company Tape End Productions, with an amazing musical score from the artist ABE and directed/filmed by Vincent Gallagher. “

The audience rating  was 84%:

A
A
A
A
A
A	Let's have more like this
A	Remarkable commentary on difficult lives
A	Excellent
A
A	Heart-rending and depressing!
A	Very intense and moving
A	Mesmerising
A	Superbly done. Very difficult to watch
B	Very good — lots of issues to think about — but went on for too long
B	Tour de force by the lead actress. Almost felt like you were there!
B	An interesting film,,, but became dragged out — I enjoyed the story...
B
B
B	Beautifully shot and lit in muted tones... A twist in the tale. Enjoyable.
B	Well acted but disturbing film. Thank goodness for the feminist revolution!
B	Excellent acting. Very harrowing — grateful to live in the UK...
C	AN INTERESTING FILM BUT, A LITTLE LONG-WINDED.
C
C	AN UNUSUAL STORY. WELL TOLD, BUT TOO SLOW FOR ME
C	Very controversial.
C
C
D	OK but couldn't watch it again.

On-line:
IMDB rating 7.0 out of 10:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1638353/

Rotten Tomatoes. Audience rating 75%:
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_patience_stone/

Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian — “A woman in a ruined warzone speaks her mind to her vegetative husband in this powerfully absorbing drama”
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/dec/05/the-patience-stone-review


Here are the links Vincent Gallagher sent about his film:
Feedback Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv9tDivzY3k

Tape End Productions:
https://vimeo.com/tapeendproductions

New company, Hell On Earth:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu0HvCbIS1SwTJm5kzLg6AQ