Northern Comfort
Encyclopedia
Northern Comfort is a 2010 American improvisational film starring Rod Webber
and Greta Gerwig
. Shot primarily in three days for a paltry three thousand dollars, the film is the second of Webber's films based on a manifesto which has been likened to DIY Dogme films which use limited equipment and other resources in an attempt to create an atmosphere of realism not present in most traditional schools of film-making. The Boston Globe
's Ty Burr
called it "DIY Dogme dedicated to Webber’s guiding maxim: 'The movie already exists, it’s just waiting to be found.’" During an interview for Gerwig's Greenberg
starring Ben Stiller
(Gerwig's first mainstream movie) she was asked whether she'd be doing more films for $3000 and replied, "[Laughs] Maybe not $3,000 budgets but maybe $50,000 budgets. I'm interested in making low-budget films not for the sake of making low-budget films but because a lot of filmmakers that I want to work with and that I like are working on a smaller scale."
. The pair skirt around their feelings as Gerwig deals with an illness which she's keeping to herself. "Because they’re damaged in similar ways — we learn they’re both the black sheep of their respective families — they make for sweet-and-sour traveling companions, or would if Cassandra didn’t keep disappearing on Horace. The people they meet on the road offer varying object lessons in coping with the disaster of living. A comically mismatched couple at a roadside motel (Joseph James Bellamy and Irina Peligrad) seem ready to seduce our heroes or at least drag them into a discussion of superheroes as modern gods. A hermit (Markus Nechay) offers Horace and Cassandra beds for the night, a musical interlude, and a glimpse of one man’s sad isolation. The closest the movie gets to a statement comes from an older man in a diner (Robert Koch) who locates nirvana in the act of tying flies."
described the film as "a tiny movie that casts a tiny but genuine spell."
Paul Ryan of the Weekly Dig draws several comparisons between Webber and big budget director James Cameron
saying, "God knows what James Cameron makes his movies for," says filmmaker Rod Webber. There are real awkward moments, real distress and very little CGI
as the pair bumbles their way through the plot, meets real people along the way, awkwardly waxing philosophy and never mentioning their feelings to each other, while being filmed. All of which makes Webber, decidedly anti-James Cameron."
Rod Webber
Rod Webber is an American musician, filmmaker and actor. Though, in his early music career he shared the stage with anti-folk acts Daniel Johnston and Kimya Dawson, Webber is probably best known for his improvisational films and documentaries, many of which were created using Webber's personal...
and Greta Gerwig
Greta Gerwig
Greta Celeste Gerwig is an American actress and filmmaker. Gerwig first came to prominence through her association with the mumblecore film movement...
. Shot primarily in three days for a paltry three thousand dollars, the film is the second of Webber's films based on a manifesto which has been likened to DIY Dogme films which use limited equipment and other resources in an attempt to create an atmosphere of realism not present in most traditional schools of film-making. The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
's Ty Burr
Ty Burr
Ty Burr has been a film critic for the Boston Globe since 2002 where he reviews films alongside Wesley Morris.Born in 1957, he studied film at Dartmouth College and New York University and has written three books: The Hundred Greatest Movies of All Time, The Hundred Greatest Stars of All Time and...
called it "DIY Dogme dedicated to Webber’s guiding maxim: 'The movie already exists, it’s just waiting to be found.’" During an interview for Gerwig's Greenberg
Greenberg
Greenberg is a surname common in North America, with anglicized spelling of the German Grünberg or the Jewish Ashkenazi Yiddish Grinberg, an artificial surname.Notable people with the surname Greenberg include:- A–C :...
starring Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller
Benjamin Edward "Ben" Stiller is an American comedian, actor, writer, film director, and producer. He is the son of veteran comedians and actors Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara....
(Gerwig's first mainstream movie) she was asked whether she'd be doing more films for $3000 and replied, "[Laughs] Maybe not $3,000 budgets but maybe $50,000 budgets. I'm interested in making low-budget films not for the sake of making low-budget films but because a lot of filmmakers that I want to work with and that I like are working on a smaller scale."
Synopsis
The film tells the story of Horace (Webber) and Cassandra (Gerwig) who meet while traveling to CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. The pair skirt around their feelings as Gerwig deals with an illness which she's keeping to herself. "Because they’re damaged in similar ways — we learn they’re both the black sheep of their respective families — they make for sweet-and-sour traveling companions, or would if Cassandra didn’t keep disappearing on Horace. The people they meet on the road offer varying object lessons in coping with the disaster of living. A comically mismatched couple at a roadside motel (Joseph James Bellamy and Irina Peligrad) seem ready to seduce our heroes or at least drag them into a discussion of superheroes as modern gods. A hermit (Markus Nechay) offers Horace and Cassandra beds for the night, a musical interlude, and a glimpse of one man’s sad isolation. The closest the movie gets to a statement comes from an older man in a diner (Robert Koch) who locates nirvana in the act of tying flies."
Critique
The Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
described the film as "a tiny movie that casts a tiny but genuine spell."
Paul Ryan of the Weekly Dig draws several comparisons between Webber and big budget director James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
saying, "God knows what James Cameron makes his movies for," says filmmaker Rod Webber. There are real awkward moments, real distress and very little CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
as the pair bumbles their way through the plot, meets real people along the way, awkwardly waxing philosophy and never mentioning their feelings to each other, while being filmed. All of which makes Webber, decidedly anti-James Cameron."