Shopping Mall Night
Koolhoven & Simons: Shopping Mall Night
This evening is dedicated entirely to the indoor shopping mall – the main feature is Observe and Report, a dark comedy in which Seth Rogen puts in a superb performance as the head of security for a shopping mall – a man bursting with self-loathing and perched permanently on the edge of psychosis.
According to fans, Observe and Report – a kind of cross between Taxi Driver and King of Comedy – is the best 21st-century comedy you never heard of: the film has never been released in the Netherlands. Stranger Things lead actor Finn Wolfhard ranks it in his top 3 best films of all time: "I think it's underrated and a really good dark comedy." Dark is certainly the word for this comedy, brimming with disillusionment, sexual frustration and male insecurity, mental disorders, drug addition and American fascism.
Jody Hill crams Observe and Report with date rape and violence against children and the police. A pretty awkward comedy then, about everyday abusers of power – police officers, managers, security guards – people with just enough power to take a step up the escalation ladder without getting punished.
In the first hour, clips from legendary shopping mall films such as Dawn of the Dead, Body Double and Chopping Mall, which lift the lid on our retail paradises, revealing their true face with sardonic pleasure.
This is part of
Details
Production year
2024
Length
171 min.
Event language
Dutch
Moderator
Martin Koolhoven & Ronald Simons
Country
NL
Language
English
Subtitles
Dutch
Part of
Koolhoven & Simons
Koolhoven and Simons will be scrutinising the genre film, presenting films within pretty forthright themes that have never before been screened at Eye. Expect evenings on Trucker, Grindhouse or Revenge of Nature films. A tribute to rarely screened trailers and forgotten classics, where possible in 35mm, using films from Eye’s collection.
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