Got a blog tip? Contact us

« The Secretariat Acknowledges that the Representative from the United States is Squirming | Main | An open letter to L.L. Bean »

Jem Cohen's film Chain in NYC

Those of you who attended the Illegal Art screenings may remember the excerpt from Jem Cohen's Chain. The film wasn't complete at the time but it opens this week at IFC Center, where it'll be showing through September 27.

CHAIN  (99 min. Color, 16mm) 
As regional character disappears and corporate culture homogenizes our surroundings, it’s increasingly hard to tell where you are. In Chain, actual malls, theme parks, hotels, and corporate centers worldwide are joined into a monolithic ‘superlandscape’ that shapes and circumscribes the lives of two women. One works for a corporation, the other is a young drifter.

I haven't yet seen the final product but Jem's stuff (Instrument: Fugazi, Benjamin Smoke) is gorgeous, contemplative, and uniquely his own. This run is crucial in determining whether Chain gets picked up elsewhere so come out and save The Constant Gardener for video.

New York Times review
Village Voice review