Rumpelstiltskin
2024 · 10m · USA
Directed by Ethan Fuirst
Genres: comedy, documentary, LGBTQ+
Tones: contemplative, humorous, whimsical
A filmmaker narrates the Grimm fable over a confessional autopsy of his dating history, splicing in interviews with exes. The bit eventually mutates into a musical fever dream where past hookups materialize mid-song.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Most first-person dating films are insufferable confessionals dressed up in indie clothes. This one yanks the Grimm Brothers in as a co-conspirator and lets the exes sing — finally, an excuse to keep watching.
16mm docu-fiction confessional that detours into a sung group hallucination — Caveh Zahedi meets Bo Burnham's Inside is a real swing and I'm here for it.
16mm grain plus fourth-wall docu-fiction plus a sung group hallucination is a lot to hold, and that's the appeal — the form keeps mutating with the confession. Real swing-for-the-fences structure.
Reviews
A fresh take on first person filmmaking, nicely handling its self-reflective narrative both structurally and tonally