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April is my Religion

Mark J. Sieber | Hampton, Virginia United States | 11/24/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those who've loved cutting edge independent/underground films for the last decade or so, the name Film Threat carries much weight. Under their VHS line of movies from the early to mid 90's, they introduced the world to some of the most amazing and brutal movies imaginable. Directors like Jim Van Bebber, Richard Kern, Jorg Buttgereit, Nick Zedd and many more had films distributed by FT. Now they are finally getting their DVD line underway and I watched one called April is my Religion last night.April is my Religion is the first movie by a guy named Bill Boll. He started a novel by the same name and got frustrated by the limitations of the written word for this particular story and wrote a screenplay from the fragment of the novel and self financed a digital film for under $10,000. After a lot of praise at film festivals, Film Threat acquired April is my Religion for distribution.Since the digital "film" revolution began a few years ago, far too many have created over the top gore films that lack guts, or parodies using the new medium. If I had a dollar for every digital Star Wars spoof that I've heard of, I wouldn't be a rich man, but I could buy a damned nice steak dinner with it. Bill Boll did what every passionate and intelligent filmmaker does: he started with a script that was smart and was definitely about something.April is my Religion stars off with a freshman in college who has no real social life and spends way too much time studying. After meeting up with a group of seniors who share a house nearby the campus, he is introduced to marijuana, hard liquor, LSD and a beautiful and intelligent student named April Polanski (!). The student, Jack, falls hopelessly in love, as April appeals to his mind, heart and body. Jack gradually gets lost in a world of booze and drugs as his obsession for April grows. It comes to a peak during a strong acid trip and Boll uses digital technology to create the most vivid psychedelic hallucinations I've ever seen in any film. This comes from a guy who knows firsthand what an acid trip is like (me).Jack eventually realizes that he is far from the only one who is in love with April. She is described by one of the guys as a viral personality that hijacks the emotions of a group of people. The difference is, while the others can adapt and accept April in a platonic fashion and maintain their grades and lives, Jack can not. His personal life continues to deteriorate and he loses all touch with himself. I really admire the way Bill Boll avoids any kind of sensational climax and concludes the story in a believable manner. There are no suicides or bloodshed, yet it is even more awful and sad this way.The screenplay was inspired by events that Bill Boll experienced in his own college years in the late 1980s. The smart dialog and above par acting belie and overcome the movie's minuscule budget. Since watching April is my Religion last night, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it and I had dreams that were inspired by it all night. If that's not the measure of a good film, I don't know what is."