The Hardest Cut
by Marinell Haegelin

Directors have a vision of the story they want to tell. In  postproduction, however, realities set in. Producers, looking at the bottom  line, also dictate what their audiences want, and length. Whole scenes can be  cut, i.e. discarded; a compromise is the Director’s Cut. Editor’s task is  stitching reams of footage into a seamless narrative, whereby every frame moves  the story forward. Understandably, directors with the editor(s) have to make  tough choices. Otherwise, a film moving/advancing at a solid pace stumbles,  which results in audience attention diminishing. Which is the consequence of  too many films I saw this year: THE ORNITHOLOGIST, TWO LOVERS AND A BEAR, THE  TRANSFIGURATION, and GRADUATION, to name a few. The hard cuts can make a film  memorable. Only KINDIL EL BAHR was too short; maybe, the director wisely  realized all had been said/shown in 40 minutes.