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Released by: Barrel Entertainment
Released on: 2/17/2004
Director: Jim Sikora
Cast: David Yow, Paula Killen, Tony Fitzpatrick, Bill Cusack, Michael James
Year: 1994
The Movie:
Chicago filmmaker takes a stab at adapting Bukowski for part of this film, which is essentially an anthology containing three separate stories revolving around some of the low-income residents of the windy city. Some of these Chicagoans are better people than others.
The first chapter, entitled Fly On The Wall, finds an amnesiac named Ed (David Yow, vocalist for the late lamented post punk group, The Jesus Lizard) drinking in a local watering hole and meeting up with Regina (Paula Killen of Mad Dog And Glory). She takes him back to her place, and things get weird. A whole lot of head games are played, and there's not really a happy ending happening here.
Chapter two, the Bukowski adaptation, is called Love After The Walls Close In (a loose reworking of Bukowski's Reunion according to the credits). Harry (Tony Fitzpatrick of Philadelphia) has just recently been let out of prison on parole. Harry sets out to hook back up with Madge (Killen again). She tells him she hadn't been with anyone else and that she is madly in love with him. He responds by beating the crap out of her and calling her every name in the book. Then he screws her over.
The final part of the film is called One Time She Played The B-Side. Here Killen plays a businesswoman named Virginia. She decides one day to take an extended lunch break at a bar around the corner and it's during this break that she meets Charlie (Bill Cusack, lesser known brother of John Cusack who appeared alongside his more famous sibling in bit parts in Con Air and Grosse Pointe Blank). As she gets to know him, her mind wanders and she sees herself in a typically crappy relationship with him, which explodes into violence over a measly five bucks.
For an independent production, Walls In The City is quite well acted. Though David Yow is really more of a supporting character he does an admirable job and proves that not all musicians who take a jab at acting have to suck (cough cough String cough cough). Sikora himself makes an amusing cameo as the bartender in the film's opening scene but the real star of the show is Paula Killen who successfully plays three different characters here - one in each of the film's three sections.
The film maintains a sense of gritty realism throughout and for those who are open to material that may not exactly qualify as 'feel good,' Walls In The City is worth a look. It's depressing as Hell, but it's still an interesting movie with some effectively dirty atmosphere and quirky oddball characters who you can help but pay attention to.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The fullframe image is stable and crisp but deliberately grainy and shakey in a few scenes. Overall though, the movie looks pretty good. Barrel took the transfer straight from the original negative, but seeing as it was shot on a 16mm handheld camera, it would be unreasonable to expect a perfectly pristine image. Colors are nice though and none of the damage to the image distracts from the actual movie itself.
The Dolby Digital Stereo track is clear enough to get the job done. It won't win any awards or serve as a demo disc to impress your friends with, but it's more or less problem free. Some hiss does crop up and in a couple of instances some of the dialogue is slightly muffled, but these are minor issues for the most part.
Barrel has done a nice job selecting some pertinent extra features for this disc. Chris Gore, of Film Threat, supplies some interesting liner notes as does Arnie Bernstein (author of Hollywood On Lake Michigan) - both pieces lend some insight into Sikora's work and the films he made. There's also a generous stills gallery on the disc as well as a video clip from Tar for their song Les Paul Worries, also directed by Sikora.
A second audio track on the disc contains a running commentary with the director who is joined by cast members David Yow, Paula Killen and Jeff Strong. It's an interesting track and topics covered include pre-production, perils of low budget pictures, and some of the challenges that faced the actors in their roles. All four participants are pretty laid back about it all and seem to have had a good time making the picture.
The best supplements on the disc though are the four short films that have been included. Bring Me The Head Of Geraldo Rivera, X-Mas 73, Small Gauge Shotgun, and Stagefright Chameleon run the gamut from funny to surreal to bizarre to violent. They're interesting glimpses into Sikora's work and it's great to see them included (and it kind of makes up for the brevity of the feature).
The Final Word:
Walls In The City is an interesting look at Chicago through the eyes of a native. The city and settings within it are as much a character in the film as any of the human actors who appear within it, and it makes for an interesting, if rather downbeat, viewing experience. Barrel has once again done an admirable job on this release and continues their trend of releasing obscure films in excellent packages.