Cal (2013)

Cal (2013)

Director: Christian Martin
Writer: Christian Martin 
Genre: Drama
Country: UK
Language: English
Duration: 89 min 
Year: 2013




Stars: Wayne Virgo, Tom Payne, Emily Corcoran

Cal je odjseo kod tetke dok mu majka umire u bolnici, bez novca, bez posla, usred ekonomske krize. Beznadežno traži posao dok noću pokušava da izbjegne seksualne nasrtaje pijane tetke. Sociorealistična priča koja se eto ponavlja svakom ekonomskom krizom koja zahvati evropu.
Nesretnim spletom okolnosti upoznaje mladog uličnog hastlera sa kojim pokušava da se skloni od lokalnog dilera drogom i makroa.

Već viđena priča koja mnogo podsjeća na film Shank istog režisera kojeg očito fasciniraju uličarske gradske priče.
Za naše podneblje umorno od svakodnevnice koje u mnogome sliči ovom priči, film može biti manje zanimljiv mada mnogi će nakon što ga odgledaju ipak reći: Nije meni tako loše:)

Film je dobro napravljen i drži tenziju cjelim svojim trajanjem, pa ga preporučujem onima koji vole priče tog tipa.

Set in the economically depressed England of today, Cal is a startling sequel to the hit 2009 film, Shank.

20 year-old Cal returns from France to Britain after receiving news that his mother is ill. He finds his home city of Bristol facing hard times, with poverty and crime on the rise and rioting and looting rife. Now openly gay, Cal clashes with his homophobic mother and alcoholic, predatory aunt. Things soon turn around upon meeting a cute, young student who needs his help. However, Cal’s act of kindness brings about a whole lot of trouble and a race against time to make peace with his mother and escape his home town. An intense, dark and intelligent feature bringing Cal’s story bang up-to-date.

Interview by Pip Ellwood of entertainment-focus.com
Christian Martin is one of the writers and directors of gay cinema hits Shank and Release. His latest offering is Bufferingwhich shows the extraordinary things a couple will do to clear their debt. The movie has just been released on DVD through TLA Releasing. We caught up with Christian to talk about the movie and find out what else he’s got in the pipeline.
How are you today?
Exhausted to be brutally honest – just returned home from a gruelling 14 hour shoot on my next film. We’re in the third week of a four week shoot and it’s taking it’s toll on me! Rain stopped play yesterday – coupled with a raid on my house from 20 Armed Response Policemen waving loaded guns in my face and arresting me and my co-director, the director of photography as well as our grip followed by a phalanx of press descending on my house to interview me about it – whilst trying to control a crew and schedule – it has been quite fatiguing to say the least!
Buffering has just come out on DVD. Tell us about the movie.
It’s an attempt by myself and co-writer/director Darren Flaxstone to try and make a film that was both relevant and a little lighter hearted in comparison to our previous films Shank and Release. I was fascinated to read about the increasingly popular fundraising route that certain enterprising people have taken by making their own amateur pornography and selling it online. The credit crunch and the familiar scene of a couple having overextended on their credit cards and being imperilled by debt turning to porn formed the basis of a good idea from which we could hopefully have some fun, make a comment and entertain all in one movie. We might not all be earning bankers’s bonuses but there’s a lot of wankers out there!
Where did the inspiration for Buffering come from?
Looking at my own credit card debt, contemplating what I would do to pay it all off if I was 20 years younger! I simply wanted to make something a little less intense than the previous two films that still has something to say whilst being a little ridiculous in places but with heart as well.
I was obviously on the money somewhere in my thinking as a Hollywood writer has approached me about a re-write for the USA with a straight couple as the lead characters as opposed to a gay couple.
What was your intention when you set out to make the film?
To quite simply have some fun and try something different, to develop as a film maker into a genre that is diametrically opposed to previous films that I have made. To work with a wider range of talented people – like the band that collaborated with us by writing an ace soundtrack – NANCY – and to make a British comedy and show we have a sense of humour!
Tell us about the casting process – how easy was that for you?
We have a great stalwart cast member who always appears in our films, Bernie Hodges, he’s a local actor who is increasingly difficult to book because his workload has increased considerably in recent years but we got him on board first. He then casts the films for us. Auditions were held and cast were selected. It’s difficult with low budget because you think big and then have to work backwards because of budget but it’s always great to find new talent and hopefully give them a break. It wasn’t easy but we got there in the end.
What was the atmosphere like on set during shooting?
Surprisingly relaxed actually. I had negotiated with another film that was finishing to buy their sets and adapt them for our use and to rent the studio space that they had booked. Being in a studio made everything so much easier and consequently more relaxed. I think everyone on the crew shared the guilty secret of knowing exactly the sites we were alluding to in the film where gay or straight couples could upload their clips and sell them for other people’s self gratification! I dare say some of the crew may have even done it!
How did Buffering differ to your previous movies Release and Shank?
Buffering is a 180 change of direction. A comedy is not only hard to write but enormously challenging to get right tonally. I think we’ve ended up with a good example of a hybrid of the two – a drama and a comedy – a dramedy if you like! The material could so easily have pulled me back towards drama and indeed I found it difficult to go in the other direction but Darren (my co-writer) was a good helmsman navigating these un-chartered waters for both of us. When you start to look at how ridiculous life can be it becomes easier to commit ideas to paper and subsequently a script. Carry On films don’t necessarily appeal to me but it’s surprising how much “carry on” there is inside of all of us regardless – we are all conditioned to enjoy a double entendre from time to time.
What would you like audiences to take away from the movie?
Hope that we can all get through tough times with a little imagination and energy! A sense that they saw something that was entertaining but that also said something about where we are all at in this moment of economic chaos that not even bankers or politicians can analyse correctly or solve as a problem. I have been lucky enough to go to a few festivals and view it with audiences and the response has been very very positive to the film.

What’s coming up next for you?
We have one week to go on a new film about youth unemployment, set against the backdrop of the 99% er’s the riots in Bristol and the return of a character from our film Shank. The film’s called Cal and stars Wayne Virgo, Daniel Brocklebank, Emily Corcoran and a stunning newcomer Tom Payne as well as the irrepressible Bernie Hodges. I agonized over what to do after Buffering and have returned to a socio-economic-realist drama as my next project. I’m having a great time pairing with collaborator Jack O’Dowd on this one. I also have a small short coming out which I have just completed called Contracted which is part of series I am doing (the first of which was the award winning Fucked directed by Jack O’Dowd which is on the dvd for Buffering). Contracted is a rye look at the world of Hollywood actor’s contracts and the obligations contained therein that are intended to keep a lid on actor’s private lives and sexual preferences. It’s not going to go down well with the Scientologists that’s for sure. We have a great cast in Eleanor Gecks and John Mason who steal the show as our showbiz/Hollywood couple coupled with an hilarious and viciously tongued PR man played by Garry Summers.
How will you be spending Christmas this year?
Starting the edit on Cal with Jack and then relaxing with my family. I am blessed with 4 nieces and a nephew who entertain us all with their antics and their enthusiasm for Christmas. We are all descending on my parents – a houseful of over 14 of us – it’s a riot. Thankfully we treat ourselves to having catering and waitering staff in to do Christmas day! Then in January it’s off to Cape Town to stay with friends and research and start writing my next script which is set in a township just outside of Cape Town.