.png)
Directed By: Shu Lea Cheang
Streaming Service: N/A
Currently Playing In: N/A
Release Date: April 23, 1994
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 1 hour 20 minutes
Description: Young lesbian parents Shareen and Claire are raising their 5-year-old daughter Honey in a converted garage on Staten Island. Shareen salvages refuse with her pickup truck while Claire waits tables at the hip Naga Saki restaurant in Manhattan, caught up in a global exchange of industrial waste via contaminated sushi. As a ghost barge bearing nuclear refuse circles the planet in search of a willing port, household pets begin to glow ominously, then disappear; and people start speaking in tongues. The crisis escalates when a multinational corporation is implicated, the couple's daughter Honey mysteriously vanishes, and a group of young New Yorkers strike back in an unlikely alliance with activists in the developing world.
Trailer Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQfsc4dVZSQ
I went to go see this movie completely on a whim with my friend on random Friday night. I watched the trailer yet, I walked into this film with no idea what to expect. Based on the synopsis I thought this would be a kitschy vibes-but-no-plot film that I would just enjoy with my friends.
I could not be more wrong.
Fresh Kill (1994) directed by Shu Lea Cheang is a punchy and fantastical neo-sci-fi environmentalist film filled with love, conspiracy, and irradiated fish.
Environmentalist films lend to be dark, drab, and dystopian. this movie drives it pro-environmental message in a flurry of bright visuals and intriguing musical jabs. At points the film divulges in its aesthetic only to whip the audience back into the true gravity of climatic change. It really drives home the ideas of corporate greed plaguing the environment and its effects on vulnerable populations. - a message that rings true all of these years later.
This film was shown at the Splinter Collective as a part of a cross-country tour by the director Shu Lea Cheang. Following the film, she spoke with the audience about the creation, purpose, and meaning of the film. Despite this being an absolutely groundbreaking film, they were rather humble about the acclaim and reputation their film has garnered.
Below is a recording of the open Q and A with director Cheang.
This film is truly riveting in its content. It's a real shame I can't direct you guys to somewhere the film can be viewed. As Cheang mentions in their Q and A, there simply isn't a distributor willing to pick up the film.
Regardless I give this film a 10/10
Comments