#ChessDocumentary

[thedonttellshow-blog]

Computer Chess - Andrew Bujalski (2013)

Computer Chess is a fake documentary set in 1980 revolving around a group of computer nerds gathered at an annual convention in which they pit humans against computers...in the same hotel is also a group of new spiritualist swingers searching for sexual enlightenment... Is this the real life? is this just fantasy?

It's really hard to tell, I don't understand this film...Andrew Bujalski started out as the head boy of the mumblecore movement, with his first two features Funny Haha and Mutual Appreciation both observing the lifes of drifting mid 20s sort of hipster types as they navigated careers and relationships in a realistic manner which also saw them branded as Slackavettes, a reference to the great John Cassavetes and his own brand of hyper-realism in the 60s and 70s, also Richard Linklater's first film, 1990's Slacker which roamed around like a radio station picking up passing signals and conversations of no real value during an ordinary day on Austin, Texas...so mumblecore and Andrew Bujaslksi kind of took those torches and carried them onto...well not greener pastures as a lot of people hate mumblcore...not me though...but now Bujalski is making mainstream buddy comedies with big hollywood stars...so why, between the mumblecore and the mainstream did he make this?

It genuienly sits there like a found object, gathering dust in some VHS bin in a forgotten corner of some convenience store. The acting is so natural and the scenario so mysterious that it just sucks you in, making you work to figure it out. 

What is this?

I don't know. But I love it.

9/10

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