Trying to Watch as Many of the Films I Blind Bought this Year Before the Year is Over 6Jack Be Nimble, directed by Garth Maxwell, 1993
Vinegar Syndrome has partnered with a lot of other film distributors before, helping to give these smaller labels a huge boost in visibility in the boutique film market. These partner labels will sometimes gain enough visibility from these partnerships to where they no longer need Vinegar Syndrome’s help after a certain point and their partnership ends with the film label setting out on their own. Usually as these labels break away, Vinegar Syndrome will do a sale of their remaining stock of the films of these former partners. Deaf Crocodile was one such partner, but I had already bought most of the films of theirs that I wanted. Another partner label that struck out on their own this year was Altered Innocence. While Deaf Crocodile primarily focused on eastern European cinema but has since branched out to include world animation, Altered Innocence’s focus was centered on coming of age films and LGBTQ films, covering a wide array of films from Irreversible to Gay USA to Death of Nintendo and to this blind buy, Jack Be Nimble
Jack Be Nimble follows Jack and Dora, two siblings who had been split apart and adopted into different families after their parents abandon them. Quickly jumping forward in time we see their respective home lives, where Dora lived a better life, although not without its traumas, while Jack faced countless abuse at the hands of his adoptive father and mother. Both siblings have their quirks. Dora develops psychic powers whereas Jack has invented a hypnotism device.
I am very much drawn to stories about siblings. I consider myself to have a close relationship with my sister even if we don’t necessarily talk to each other all the time. The story of Jack and Dora is one where it is the two siblings against the world, with the pair trying to find answers as to why they were abandoned all while Jack’s adopted sisters hunt him down for revenge for the deaths of their parents. Blood splatter abounds, but the hokeyness is toned down by just how ethereal shots can feel. The scenes with the hypnotism device are unsettling and there are several beautiful shots of Dora using her psychic powers that verge on the poetic. One such shot has her floating in a body of water with flowers all around her, very much like the painting Ophelia. She is risking her life to use her powers at the mere idea that Jack’s own life is in danger and close to its end. There’s a dedication between the two of them even if they disagree heavily on how they go about their goals
Trying to Watch as Many of the Films I Blind Bought this Year Before the Year is Over 6Jack Be Nimble, directed by Garth Maxwell, 1993
Vinegar Syndrome has partnered with a lot of other film distributors before, helping to give these smaller labels a huge boost in visibility in the boutique film market. These partner labels will sometimes gain enough visibility from these partnerships to where they no longer need Vinegar Syndrome’s help after a certain point and their partnership ends with the film label setting out on their own. Usually as these labels break away, Vinegar Syndrome will do a sale of their remaining stock of the films of these former partners. Deaf Crocodile was one such partner, but I had already bought most of the films of theirs that I wanted. Another partner label that struck out on their own this year was Altered Innocence. While Deaf Crocodile primarily focused on eastern European cinema but has since branched out to include world animation, Altered Innocence’s focus was centered on coming of age films and LGBTQ films, covering a wide array of films from Irreversible to Gay USA to Death of Nintendo and to this blind buy, Jack Be Nimble
Jack Be Nimble follows Jack and Dora, two siblings who had been split apart and adopted into different families after their parents abandon them. Quickly jumping forward in time we see their respective home lives, where Dora lived a better life, although not without its traumas, while Jack faced countless abuse at the hands of his adoptive father and mother. Both siblings have their quirks. Dora develops psychic powers whereas Jack has invented a hypnotism device.
I am very much drawn to stories about siblings. I consider myself to have a close relationship with my sister even if we don’t necessarily talk to each other all the time. The story of Jack and Dora is one where it is the two siblings against the world, with the pair trying to find answers as to why they were abandoned all while Jack’s adopted sisters hunt him down for revenge for the deaths of their parents. Blood splatter abounds, but the hokeyness is toned down by just how ethereal shots can feel. The scenes with the hypnotism device are unsettling and there are several beautiful shots of Dora using her psychic powers that verge on the poetic. One such shot has her floating in a body of water with flowers all around her, very much like the painting Ophelia. She is risking her life to use her powers at the mere idea that Jack’s own life is in danger and close to its end. There’s a dedication between the two of them even if they disagree heavily on how they go about their goals
