Director: Jérôme Vandewattyne
Distributor: Zeno Pictures
Duration: 87 minutes
Spit’n’Split (Blu-ray) – Movie Review
We review a lot of content on our page, ranging from the smallest indie games to the biggest titles in the industry. We try to do the same for movies and series, depending on what is on offer. We have recently taken a look at titles such as Lovecraft Country, some 4K releases, but also smaller productions such as Rage. In the past, we have worked together with Zeno Pictures, a distributor of somewhat more obscure and rare titles, and this time the company has presented us with the mockumentary Spit‘n’Split. This odd piece of cinema is all about the touring of The Experimental Tropic Blues Band.
The story of Spit’n’Split can easily be said in a few lines of text. We get to follow around ‘The Experimental Topic Blues Band’ for a fairly long period of time, seeing how they prepare for gigs, where they stay and the overall chemistry between the different band members. While there is no real engaging plot, the overall approach to this film is what makes you sink your teeth in the ‘plot’ that unfolds.
Initially, the flow actually feels a lot like a proper documentary of the life of a band. We get to see them stay in mold-infested shabby rooms and sometimes more decent hotels. We see them perform at small gigs, but also how they treat one another as a family. Nonetheless, as this ‘film’ progresses, things take a turn towards the absurd with one of the band members going over the edge, and some hallucinogenic footage thrown in the mix. Nonetheless, this gives it that cinematic appeal some may look for in an experience such as this. We have to say that there is a bit of explicit material, even some very obscene scenes that might not suit everyone.
Acting performances are, well, fairly good. Even though some items could easily be real footage of gigs and other activities, the absurdist scenes that soon ensue are also handled quite realistically. There is not much more to say than that the band is being their eccentric selves, with a bit of actual acting thrown in the mix.
On the Blu-ray disc, you’ll find a fair number of special features, ranging from simple teasers, to several music videos and some behind-the-scenes footage. It’s all in the style of the original feature film, and this is quite nice. The only annoyances that occur are the small 8-10 second clips you constantly get when navigating through the menu for the different features.
Conclusion
While Spit’n’Split might not be a release for everyone, even for fans that are not into the music of this particular band, it’s actually quite interesting to see what goes on behind the scenes. Even though it is a ‘mockumentary’, there is still a lot of actual proper footage to be found here, to show how smaller bands have to survive in our high-demand music industry. While not every scene was as interesting as the other, it was a fairly intriguing experience.
Spit’n’Split (Blu-ray) - Movie Review,
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