Well, I cannot say that "The Cost of Living" was my favorite video. There were aspects that I enjoyed about the movie, and then there were aspects that I did not enjoy. I will start with the parts I did not like, that way I can end on a positive note. I did not enjoy the amount of cursing in the video. I know this is just a personal preference, but I do not like cursing, especially in excess, when it is not necessary, and when there are other words that could be said instead. I think that the language was my biggest dislike in this film. Some aspects of the film, such as it's ability to make you uncomfortable, I did not like, but I understood its reasoning. It was a very intrusive video, with people being right up to the camera and also not understanding what was happening, created the sense of discomfort. Other parts of the video, such as when the guy was dancing to Cher, I really enjoyed. It was fun, but also told a story while it went, with the love the was connecting between him and the hula-hoop dancer, through the hoop. I also enjoyed the part where the main guy with no legs danced with one of the main dancers. I found that choreography to be quite beautiful. The idea of public performance, and live performance were dominant features in this video. The video says a lot about how a normal public space can be turned into an area of art and performance. Although they were doing this to make performance art for a video, they also played with the idea of live art for a live audience. The way they approached art, dance, and sculpture in this video was pretty brilliant. I believe I would have enjoyed the video more if the focus was more directly placed on the performance art, and less on the vocal dialogue between actors. If this was a video re-edited with only the dance scenes, and placed to music I think I would have an entirely different feeling toward this video.
