#manfromreno

Man From Reno and a shit-load of coffee have my head spinning, rotating around planet Noir.  A world of shadows, Gum Shoes, Femmes Fatale, Chiaroscuro, trench coats, German Expressionism, fast talking, and faster women. 

Film Noir was a place in time, a collective style yearning for order, reluctant heroes, and a twisting adventure that takes down a clear villain.  This is not a world of ethics, but that of sacrifice and pain.  Film Noir worked because of the time it was in, the style was a convergence of multiple influences and people dressed and spoke differently then.

German expressionism came with the german directors who fled Germany as the fascists rose to power and a shadow loomed over europe once again.  Despair is palpable in a Film Noir.  It is communicated with deep shadows, true blacks as thick as walls.

Film Noir now can’t quite be achieved because the times they have a’changed - enter the Neo-Noir.  A successful Neo-Noir doesn’t try to emulate or deconstruct the films of the golden era of film, it’s right there in the name.  A Neo-Noir is new.  No retreading, no pure homage just an understanding of what made Film-Noir work.  No one needs to talk like a 20′s gangster, no one needs to wear a trench coat and fedora, and no one needs to sit in an unlit cigar-hazed office waiting for a dame with legs that just won’t quit. 

A successful Neo-Noir is about tone - the feeling of utter insignificance.  Most Noir heroes don’t topple regimes with complex plans, they pick away at a knot until is unravels revealing not the strength of the hero but the weakness of the villain. 

See Seven, Man From Reno, M, Collateral they don’t emulate the Noirs of yore, they take tone, pacing, and composition and create something new, stronger, gripping, and fascinating while pulling us in with an unconscious allure of the familiar.  This isn’t to say Noir can’t be emulated it’s just very difficult.  Sin City is a garbage movie because it tries to create tone with recycled motifs and lines while using the gimmick of green screen to call itself original.  By far the greatest deconstruction of Noir came from an early 2000′s show that I think Tumblr is fairly familiar of.

Holy shit.

The Man From Reno is a paragon of low budget, indie filmmaking.  A gripping neo-noir set in modern day California, The man From Reno follows Japanese crime writer Aki Akahora as she gets drawn into a real-life murder mystery.  

The twisting, mindfucking plot will keep any passive observer completely invested in a mystery involving medicinal turtles and dead Japanese smugglers. The lead, Aki, engages with the viewer as a spectator - someone who, like us, loves to play detective.  She follows the clues, interrogates leads, and takes joy in assembling the mystery but is soon overwhelmed when fiction become reality.  

Director of Photography Richard Wong breathes life into the film despite budgetary restraints.  His adept use of composition and perfect lighting makes up for a lack flashy gags and expensive, complicated jib or steadycam work.  By using color and symmetry he is able to create tension in sequences without breaking the bank.  Furthermore, he proves that noir is more of a feeling, pace, and tone than a flat out genre. 

The Dedication of PEPE SERNA DAY in Corpus, Christi, TX