Paul Bartel was one of my favorite directors from the 70's & 80's. From PRIVATE PARTS to DEATH RACE 2000 to EATING RAOUL his films all have a crazy energy to them that I can really get into so it was great to get a chance to check out his first film here which is a pretty neat 30 minute short. The story concerns a woman named Jane who has a suspicion that her life is secretly being filmed for a movie. This basic story has been recycled by Hollywood for that stupid TRUMAN SHOW movie and before that Woody Allen made something similar and I'm sure there have been others but for me it works better in short form here. It's a horror/comedy/drama mix that Bartel was only able to make cuz he stole some film and equipment from a company he worked for. That's what real dedicated filmmakers do. My favorite character is Jane's boyfriend who splits up with her because she doesn't share his obsession with cinema. I can really relate to that fellow and I feel his pain. The insane director is also a nice touch. I think the main thing I find amusing is that the horrifying idea presented in this film, being filmed constantly and having no privacy, is something internet-obsessed, reality TV-loving people today would love to have happen to them.
Bartel later remade this as an episode of Steven Spielberg's AMAZING STORIES but I can't imagine that a bigger budgeted TV-version of this would be all that great.
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