Red Cockroaches

Red Cockroaches
Directed by Miguel Coyula
Produced by Miguel Coyula
Written by Miguel Coyula
Starring Adam Plotch
Talia Rubel
Jeff Pucillo
Diane Spodarek
Music by Miguel Coyula
Distributed by Herectic Films (US) / Piramide (Cuba)
Release dates
 October 25, 2003 (Cuba)
Running time
 82 min.
Language English
Budget 2000 USD

Red Cockroaches (Spanish: Cucarachas Rojas) is a Cuban film released in 2003. This feature film was the debut production of Miguel Coyula and was the result of a two-year effort on a tiny budget of $2,000. Shot entirely using a portable digital camcorder and edited on a home computer, Red Cockroaches is an example of DIY cinema. In its review, Variety called it a "A triumph of technology in the hands of a visionary with know-how..." It is the first of a planned trilogy which continues with Corazon Azul (Blue Heart).

Plot

A young man meets a mysterious girl in the subway and gets romantically involved with her, only to later discover that she might be his long lost sister. Dark and atmospheric, the world the characters inhabit is an alternative New York City with bouts of Acid Rain and ruled by an omnipotent cloning company called DNA21. Cryptic in nature and merging several genres, mainly sci-fi and drama with sporadic dark humor and surrealist touches, Red Cockroaches’ morally ambiguous incest story has gathered as many fans as detractors making it a modern underground cult movie.

Visuals

Based on carefully planned storyboards, every time there is a cut in the film, it is to a new camera setup that hasn't been used before as opposed to traditional film language where the editor cuts back to a same shot during a scene. In the case of Red Cockroaches the influence of comic book storytelling is obvious.


Some reviewers have pointed that scene transitions and edits mimic the effect of a pop-up book. [1]

Rather than attempting to make DV look like film, the colors were digitally manipulated to the extreme with the purpose of enhancing the atmosphere. This along with multiple layer composites generated the movie’s distinctive, often saturated look.


Awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ "FilmMonthly Review". Retrieved 2005-10-16.
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