In Sylvio, anthropomorphic ape scenery stretches from six seconds to 80 minutes
AUSTIN, Texas-South by Southwest's film schedule refuses to hold your hand. While projects like Nobody Speaks ("the Gawker trial documentary") or Life (a modern sci-fi thriller, i la Alien) have loglines that can guide you, that's not the case for everything being shown. Case in point: Sylvio, a "comedy, drama, fantasy" about "a small town gorilla stuck in his job." Huh?
If Sylvio immediately gives off the impression it's a small arthouse/theater-of-the-absurd affair, that's because it is to some extent. Filmmakers Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney have created a slow and stylish version of Baltimore where a gorilla can shoot hoops or play some vinyl, all within perfectly composed frames Wes Anderson would approve of. The score is minimalistic, 8-bit, and catchy. The deadpan humor has a degree of intentional, Tim & Eric-styled awkwardness (though the absurdity is turned down a bit in comparison). Together, these taste elements make the mundane interesting to some extent-but after seeing it, I still didn't really understand why Sylvio became a film.
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