Sink or Swim

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Walter M "Sink or Swim" is a pointed and intriguing attempt from experimental filmmaker Su Friedrich to explore the complex and evolving feelings she has towards her intellectual father. Along those lines, a young girl(Jessica Meyerson) narrates in the third person while a panoply of black and white video clips are shown, mostly archival footage but some could be home movies. They are meant to reflect at first the early worshipful stance she had towards him, starting even before the beginning with zygotes. That all changes when Friedrich goes nuclear in showing complacent title sequences of 50's sitcoms in direct contrast to the now chaotic nature of her parents' relationship.(There is a handy flow chart in case you lose track, by the way.) As proof that anger is amplified by a typewriter's keys, there is the movie's sole first person narrative in a letter written by Friedrich to her dad, before she begins to literally inhibit the movie she began in another person's voice. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/13 Full Review Genyana M Eh, the narration was interesting but I really did not like the found footage visuals. Also her father sounds like a horrible man. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 12/07/11 Full Review Kirk T Picked it on Netflix in a whim. I liked the cover and the quick recap combo. I'm glad I did. Felt very personal. I love the images along side the child's voice and words. Very well done piece of film. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/26/10 Full Review Tio B I guess I'm not too interested in the director's relationship with her father, or in other people's home movies, or in hearing an entire film narrated by a little girl a la READING RAINBOW (unless it's John Paizs' CRIME WAVE). Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 11/25/09 Full Review Randy T An avant-garde "experiment" that effectively characterizes Friedrich's strained relationship with her father. Taken separately, each of the 26 vignettes play out like open-ended beatnik verse, yet they fit together perfectly. Through an odd assortment of video clips and narratives, the director lays bare her dysfunctional upbringing with style and clarity. A truly remarkable little film. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/20/10 Full Review X. T Excellent, one of the best autobiographical essay films that I've seen (not that I've seen many). The film is organized into 26 parts corresponding to the letter of the alphabet in reverse order. In each section Friedrich relates episodes of her family history especially the troubled relationship between her and her abusive father through a third person story narrated by a young girl. This creates a distance between the text and the narrative that only increases the potency of the narration. The effect is comparable to that of Sans Soleil, except in reverse fashion. The images and section title cards interact in subtle and direct ways, sometimes serving as ironic contrast and sometimes suggest a narrative of their own. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 10/06/09 Full Review Read all reviews

Sink or Swim

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