This This is last minute but if you are in the area, stop by. I wish I could I am dying to see this film.
Flickers fest opens with must-see Terry Gilliam short
01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, August 9, 2011
In “The Wholly Family,” young Jake has a fantastic journey while on vacation in Naples with his family.
Terry Gilliam headlines the opening night of Flickers: The Rhode Island International Film Festival when his short film, “The Wholly Family” goes on screen at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9, at Veterans Memorial Auditorum. Once of the Monty Python troupe, Gilliam has created bizarre worlds in “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and “Brazil.” And “The Wholly Family,” at just under 21 minutes long, is as off the wall as some of his earlier feature films.
Set in Naples (the one in Italy, not the one Rhode Islanders retire to in Florida), it follows the nightmare adventures of Jake, a nasty, demanding boy who is on vacation with his parents. Jake has taken a liking to a figurine of a Neapolitan baker on sale from a slightly creepy street vendor. When his parents don’t give in, Jake steals the figurine.
That night, in Jake’s nightmare, the figurine grows to man size. He forces Jake into his belly where there are lots of Neapolitan bakers who force food on Jake. This is followed by a very strange sequence in which the bakers take Jake to a hospital on an island where babies are delivered from huge eggs, including Jake.
The film has an oddball twist involving baby Jake. And there’s an amusing twist at the end, too, that mimics the familiar tableau figurines of the Holy Family — Jesus, Mary and Joseph. I’m not sure what will happen theatrically with “The Wholly Family,” although it might be given Academy Award consideration. For Gilliam fans, it’s one not to be missed.
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