The Truth APM, 13 January 2013
One of the most popular - and
perhaps most irritating - way to publicize a new cinema release is through the publicity interview, where the director, cast
and other creative personnel describe the experience of filming while trying to describe their work in as succinct a way as
possible without giving away anything of the plot.
False Ending offers an interesting comment on this strategy through a structure that
resembles a series of Chinese boxes, in which nothing is quite what it seems. It comprises a series of publicity interviews
given at American universities, in which the director and stars of a film (called False Ending) offer comments and
take questions from members of the audience. The majority of these staged events are shown to be part of the fictional
film False Ending -- a deliberate ploy, it seems, to make listeners reflect on the thin line separating
screen "illusion" from the "reality" of the publicity event.
However the action ends up taking us by surprise, as one of the publicity stunts ends up with the
actors and the director turning on one another. We are left wondering whether the completed film has any "theme" at
all, or whether it has simply become a victim of the publicity machine in which representation reigns supreme.
What distinguishes many of The
Truth APM's productions is the quality of their aural soundscapes. False Ending does not disappoint in this
respect, with a clever placement of voices both close to and away from the microphone. After having listened
to this podcast, you will begin to doubt whether any film publicity interview bears any real reference to the finished product.
