Search - Campfire on DVD

Four Good Art Films

interested_observer | San Francisco, CA USA | 02/11/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"?Campfire? is a collection of four short films by Belgian director Bavo Defurne. I had enjoyed seeing the title film and one or two others at film festivals and was pleased to have this DVD appear. It would be easy to suppose four different people produced each movie since the techniques used vary so much. The most noticeable common feature is the scaled back or non-existent dialogue. The visuals are rich and the actors as gorgeous as can be. There are skin shots in all four.Campfire (?Kampvuur?, 1999, color, 20 minutes, Flemish with English subtitles) features boyscout Tijl (played by Joram Schurmans), his close friend, girlscout Ineke (played by Circe Lethem), and prankster boyscout Wout (played by Koen van Heule) at summer camp. Tijl and Wout eye each other and go off camping together. Lots of feelings arise amongst the three leads. Some campfires are just too hot for roasting marshmallows. ?Campfire?, the most ?normal? of the four movies, got a lot of favorable buzz after the film festival. I like it a lot. Wout?s photo is on the front cover; Wout and Tijl have a small photo on the back of the DVD case.?Particularly Now, in Spring? (1995, black & white, 8 minutes, voiceover in English) shows anonymous high school students going through exercises, swimming, dressing, and undressing. The camera tracks one (Olaf Nollen) while the voiceover tells of the character?s desire to be an actor, to keep a solidarity with his fellow students, and to have dreams. The camerawork is in a style reminiscent of Sergei Eisenstein. The two bottom photos on the back of the DVD case come from this film. ?Sailor? (?Matroos?, 1997, color, 17 minutes, no dialogue) has a Pierre et Gilles look. A fellow who likes to be in a bathtub thinks of a sailor friend. They ride a motorcycle, go to the beach, and drink beer. The sailor goes to sea. They trade gifts. Now the sailor is coming home. What then? Throughout there are lots of small special effects ? big stars, glowing sunsets, mailing a nebula to your lover etc. Henry Mancini?s ?Charade? tune makes an appearance. ?Saint? (1996, black & white, 10 minutes, no dialogue, English title card) is a straightforward retelling of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian in a simple, natural setting. The star of ?Particularly Now, in Spring?, Olaf Nollen, gets to be Sebastian. There a couple of villains in charge, some soldiers, a boy who watches the arrest and notifies Sebastian?s supporters, and one fellow who seems extra eager to run to Sebastian?s assistance. The execution scene is quite erotic. There are more close-ups than usual, maybe a bit like Carl Dreyer in ?The Passion of Joan of Arc.? The top photo on the back of the DVD case shows the as yet unsainted title character in a guarded moment.The DVD has no commentary, making-of, behind-the-scenes, or picture gallery. There is no paper insert. Only in ?Campfire? do the films consistently link the character names with actor names. I like ?Campfire? and ?Saint? very much and don?t mind the others. I hope Bavo Defurne gets to make more movies."

Four Good Art Films

interested_observer | San Francisco, CA USA | 02/01/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Campfire" is a collection of four short films by Belgian director Bavo Defurne. I had enjoyed seeing the title film and one or two others at film festivals and was pleased to have this DVD appear. It would be easy to suppose four different people created each movie, since the techniques used vary so much. The most noticeable common feature is the scaled back or non-existent dialogue. The visuals are rich and the actors as gorgeous as can be. There are skin shots in all four.Campfire ("Kampvuur", 1999, color, 20 minutes, Flemish with English subtitles) features boyscout Tijl (played by Joram Schurmans), his close friend, girlscout Ineke (played by Circe Lethem), and prankster boyscout Wout (played by Koen van Heule) at summer camp. Tijl and Wout eye each other and go off camping together. Lots of feelings arise amongst the three leads. Some campfires are just too hot for roasting marshmallows. "Campfire", the most `normal' of the four movies, got a lot of favorable buzz after the film festival I saw it at. Wout's photo is on the front cover of the DVD case; Wout and Tijl have a small photo on the back."Particularly Now, in Spring" (1995, black & white, 8 minutes, voiceover in English) shows anonymous male high school students going through exercises, swimming, dressing, and undressing asexually. The camera tracks one (Olaf Nollen) while the voiceover tells of the character's desire to be an actor, to keep a solidarity with his fellow students, and to have dreams. The camerawork is in a style reminiscent of Sergei Eisenstein. The two bottom photos on the back of the DVD case come from this film. "Sailor" ("Matroos", 1997, color, 17 minutes, no dialogue) has a Pierre et Gilles look. A fellow who likes to be in a bathtub thinks of a sailor friend. They ride a motorcycle, go to the beach, and drink beer. The sailor goes to sea. They trade gifts. Now the sailor is coming home. What then? Throughout there are lots of small special effects - big stars, glowing sunsets, mailing a nebula to your lover etc. Henry Mancini's "Charade" tune makes an appearance. "Saint" (1996, black & white, 10 minutes, no dialogue, English title card) is a straightforward retelling of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian in a simple, natural setting. The star of "Particularly Now, in Spring", Olaf Nollen, gets to be Sebastian. There a couple of villains in charge, some soldiers, a boy who watches the arrest and notifies Sebastian's supporters, and one fellow who seems extra eager to run to Sebastian's assistance. The execution scene is rather erotic. There are more close-ups than usual, though not as much as Carl Dreyer did in "The Passion of Joan of Arc." The top photo on the back of the DVD case shows the (as yet unsainted) title character in a guarded moment.The DVD has no commentary, making-of, behind-the-scenes, or picture gallery. There is no paper insert. Only in "Campfire" do the films consistently link the character names with actor names. Total time is a bit meager at 56 minutes. There are trailers to four other movies, though.I like "Campfire" and "Saint" very much and don't mind the others. Thank you, Strand Releasing, for assembling these movies. I hope Bavo Defurne gets to make more."

"Campfire" should be tossed in the Bonfire!

Alan P. Stolz | Houston, TX USA | 09/21/2003

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Talk about a waste of money! I too continued to watch, also trying to convince myself that this just might be an art film and I was, perhaps, just too dense to "get it." No. The fact is, the writers didn't get it. The directors didn't get it. And the actors didn't get it. And I hope after you read this, potential buyers won't get it either. What a waste of money. eBay, here it goes! I should have shared the copy Matt Price from Houston bought and least I might have had a good time!"

Bravo Bavo!

Tom | New York | 11/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Very charming films from a young promising director. These are great little short films about gay love and loss. It is a delight to see the gorgeous cast in Bavo's bittersweet art films. Bavo's website has news about a first feature, I can't wait for it to be released. These films are classic but not at all mainstream, a real must for anyone expecting something special."