Have you ever had an intense dream that just felt like the weirdest thing ever? If not, watch Sean Price Williams’ “The Sweet East” and you will know what that feels like.
“The Sweet East” is one of the strangest and most confusing films I have ever laid my eyes on. It was a sweet treat for film lovers. It begins like any other, introducing the main character Lillian. She is a student who goes on her class trip to Washington, D.C.
However, she gets separated from her group and goes on a whimsical adventure that will leave the viewer confused.
One thing I noticed about Lillian is that she is a compulsive liar and the luckiest girl in the world. I feel like if this was an accurate depiction of wandering alone in a city, she would be kidnapped.
However, she ends up finding someone to give her a home, becomes famous, gets caught in a crossfire and then finally gets kidnapped. All of those plots happen in about an hour and thirty minutes of runtime.
This film was an interesting watch and I actually enjoyed it a lot. The beginning credits are in musical form, which was my favorite part of the film. I think the actress who played Lillian, Talia Ryder, was great.
Although, I was not a big fan of Lillian because she seemed manipulative, selfish and kind of rude. However, she was what the young folk say “a girl boss” because she was able to have an adventure after being lost.
One cool thing about this film was that it was shot on 16mm film. I absolutely love when films nowadays use analog to tell a story. I fear that analog film is dying and movies like “The Sweet East” are slowly keeping it alive.
I was also one of the fortunate to see this film in the Putnam Theater hosted by the Film Society we have on campus. The cool thing about this screening was that it was the first theater in New Hampshire to show “The Sweet East.”
“The Sweet East” was one of the strangest films that I have seen. I highly recommend watching on your own time. I gave this film four out of five stars and would watch it again.
My next review will be on a foreign film called “Monster” which will be screening after spring break. Until then, stay weird!
Mariah Rodriguez-Costa can be contacted at
Mariah.Rodriguez-Costa@keene.edu
