asc85
Aside from the mostly positive reviews, I also was interested in seeing this film because it attracted famous directors like Atom Egoyan, Wayne Wang, and John Waters to speak about the Kuchars. These brothers were people I had never heard of before, but I enjoyed learning more about them, and they were both very likable. However, there were two noticeable holes in this documentary: 1. The brothers' sexuality is hinted at, but never really discussed. Why not? 2. With the exception of one, maybe two scenes, the brothers are never shown together on screen. Did they have a falling out? That seems to be the case, but it was never addressed. And it is quite noticeable.I wasn't asking for a hard-hitting expose on the brothers, but it's clear that this was a labor of love for the director. That's both good and bad. I'm sure the brothers asked her not to address the issues I raised above. Too bad for us.
druid333-2
Sometime in the mid 1950's,a new realm of cinema started to rear it's head to make people stand up & take notice (and succeeded after a while). Up & coming film makers such as Stan Brakhage,Kenneth Anger, and Mike & George Kuchar. The brothers Kuchar shot most of their epics with virtually no budget,in 8mm (although they would make the big move to 16mm & video years later),and starring either their families,friends,next door neighbours & total strangers,with titles such as 'The naked & the nude','Hold me while I'm naked','Sins of the fleshapoids',and many others. I had only heard of the films of the Kuchar brothers via J.Hoberman & Jonathan Rosembaum's excellent book, 'Midnight Movies',which had a chapter on underground films of the 1950's,thru the early 1980's (when the book was published),along with other offbeat films of that era,including the films of John Waters, David Lynch,Jack Smith,and others. Jennifer Kroot's 'It Came From Kuchar',is a documentary that showcases the Kuchar brothers,Mike & George (twins,although it's never really revealed if they are fraternal or identical,as each brother really doesn't look like one another),tell their individual tales on growing up in New Jersey & what made them want to make movies. In addition to a treasure trove of clips from what I could only call "a cinematic fever dream",also has no lack of interview footage from Mike & George,as well as their fans (which include,among others:John Waters,Buck Henry,critic B.Ruby Rich,Atom Egoyan,Wayne Wang,Guy Maddin & Bill Griffith,creator of Zippy the Pinhead),and friends that acted in their short epics (such as Bob Cowan,Donna Kerness,Cynthia Mailman,and others). Jennifer M.Kroot (Sirens of the 23rd century)directs this inspired documentary for those who fancy the truly bizarre (i.e.:midnight cult movies,underground cinema of the 1960's/1970's & beyond),with cinematography by Christopher Million & editing by Jesse Spencer. It (for sure)won't be everybody's cup of tea,but those interested should seek it out. Not rated by the MPAA,this film contains raunchy language,flashes of full frontal nudity,sexual content & other lurid goings on that's not for innocent eyes
maystie
I went in to this movie at the SXSW festival having never heard of the Kuchar brothers; I just thought the description sounded intriguing. Boy, am I glad I took a chance on it; of all the films I saw during the festival, this was one of my favorites. It's a hilarious and sometimes poignant look at the world of underground filmmakers and identical (or maybe not) twins, George and Mike Kuchar.These guys have made tons of no-budget films since the 50s, including such classics as The Naked and the Nude, Lust for Ecstasy, Hold Me While I'm Naked, The Devil's Cleavage...and they are fascinating characters to boot. After looking at clips from their movies, it's easy to see that the Kuchar films heavily influenced John Waters' early works.I hope this documentary gets a distribution deal; it definitely deserves to be seen. If it plays on IFC or Sundance channel, do yourself a favor and check it out.
