THE PERFECT PLAN

Not so long ago, I promised the Misses Aprile and Etling (as well as Mister [Master?] Elston) that I would post the film my Chinese classmates and I made for our spring semester oral. Turns out that it already exists out there on the web-o-tron, hosted by the IU Language Center website.

Chinese Film Festival 2007

Note that the film won third place (I think we deserved better, but only one of us was able to attend the festival and cast a vote). By way of further recommendation, note that after a viewing, the eminent Tommy Smith was moved to write the following:

Erika Kougar's "A Perfect Plan" is a complex investigation of humanity at its most base. The plot structure recalls the bloody revenge tragedies of the Grecian stage, but Kougar -- in a deft subversion of form -- sets her action in a seemingly banal environment of suburban middle America. The film, which uses largely untrained Chinese-speaking actors and shot on consumer grade digital cameras, is a revelatory mixture of psychologiocal realism and low-grad camp. Notice the performances in the now classic "morgue" scene -- at the height of the dramatic tension, an actress looks directly into the camera and diffuses the moment with a high-pitched yelp. Some say Herzog pioneered the technique of using natural settings and pedestrian enviroments to tell stories of a deeper emotional resonance, but Kougar has taken the form one step further. For anyone wanting to see the next phase of filmic history, "A Perfect Plan" is not to be missed.

Not that I don't want to take full responsibility for this masterpiece (or for my very poor tones), but I must share the glory with my castmates and co-creators: Guo Kaiyi, Hou Anmei, and Jian Mosi. They were all a pleasure to work with and not only because they all thought I looked no older than 22. I'm so glad I started early on the Botox.