Beeswax

Mapping out everyday life and understanding how to survive - or die from - boredom takes special observation skills. Andrew Bujalski´s latest report from the Mumblecore-factory is a charming small-scale drama set in a vintage clothing store in Austin, Texas.

Issues like finances, boyfriends and future plans are on the menu when twin sisters Jeannie and Lauren are introduced, and Bujalski makes it clear that questions of relationships, love and life are the same whether you walk or not- something delicately illustrated but not emphasized through one sister's need of a wheelchair.

But with its minimalist narrative, familiar from other Mumblecore films, "Beeswax" is also a film about a community's interconnectedness - society as a beehive. True to the routines of daily life, the lazy, quasi-philosophic dialogue is filled with made up truths as well as tips on the best way to pass time on road trips (just add "anal" before all car models you meet). "Beeswax" is perhaps foremost an examination of the vernacular and idioms of rural America.
MARTIN FROSTBERG