Brilliant and touching

A Major Disappointment

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

I watched the film at home. All by myself, in darkness and with headphones on. What an extraordinary experience. Strange Factories draws you into the story, it feels like a dream, something you cannot escape without going through it. The sounds and images creep into your soul. It shook my very own reality, left me in awe and in tears, searching for my own truth. It only scratched on the surface during watching the film. Afterwards it worked through me for weeks, questioning myself in a positive way. It awakens something, something that has been buried inside me a long time ago and wants to get out. I'm not going into the story as I think everyone should experience this incredible piece of art on its own. I've seen the film multiple times now and every experience is different and opens another door. Thank you FoolishPeople! I can't wait to see what more is to come.

When I first saw the Trailer of Strange Factories I instantly wanted to see the whole film. Luckily I was able to visit London around the time when FoolishPeople screened the film at the Cinema Museum. What a perfect location. All events with FoolishPeople are always a surprise to me and they create unforgetable moments. I love that you never know where their stories will take you within. And I love that the film is held in black and white, the dark environment and the landscape. the mysterious and unknown. Mixed with the live part it has been an exciting experience. Every cast member lived their roles. We were guided through the Cinema Museum to explore the characters stories in a different way. Music and sound effects were perfectly chosen and merged with the film and the live experience. A very well created piece of art. It is definitely more of an art film experience to watch Strange Factories. For myself I can say I had an amazing evening and the film is definitely a creation worth watching. I would go see it again! FoolishPeople deserve more notice and I wish them the best of luck for their future projects and films. Can't wait to see what more is to come. A fan from Germany Mirjam

I was not in a theater so I can't write about the "immersive" experience: this lines are just about the film itself. I think that a clear narrative structure was not a goal, here. Keeping straight to the meaning is the main duty of a director. Strange Factories is a surreal film so, in my opinion, the purpose was driving the audience to a given feeling and, more or less, a given state of mind. For me, being a very low budget (first) feature film, the final result has been achieved. A few notes on the product. Acting: yes, many actors and sometimes actresses wear a mask but I found their acting effective for the surreal mission. Cinematography: in my humble opinion, even though they shot in digital, black&white was mandatory for the purpose of this feature... there are a few out of focus or dark scenes but, overall, it works. Editing: it flows and that counts, of course. The "surrealism" is almost reached with acting, directing and music, just a little using editing. Music/Sound: yes, they are essential to reach a given state of mind and they get it. Do they really need a huge name like Mozart? I don't think so: it does not need extra power from a giant, it could work by itself.

Strange Factories as staged at the Cinema Museum is a hybrid film/immersive theatre experience that addresses the nature of the creative process and how the artist's creation possesses an existence independently of the artist. The experience begins in the queue outside, where actors in masks instruct audience members to be silent during the performance, and inspect and tease them, priming them for what happens inside. The audience is then split into two groups which once inside are introduced to a number of characters in immersive theatre style, invited to consider their role in the performance, plied with (sham) drinks at a bar and participate in a seance-like ceremony. There was plenty of personal interaction in the viewing I attended, with an audience of nine, though I expect this will vary considerably with the size of the audience. Much of the action takes place in the dark, and the spooky atmosphere throughout is skilfully maintained.The audience is then invited to sit down to watch the film. This to me is where the serious problems I had with the production begin. The film follows Victor Stronheim and a cast of largely forgettable and interchangeable characters around as he agonises over a play he has written. Boundaries between the worlds of Stronheim, his characters, the audience in the film and the actual audience are blurred, and Stronheim is forced to stage his play to get out of a predicament whose nature is obfuscated by the frankly tedious goings-on. In some scenes the film appears to taunt the audience with dialogue such as (I'm paraphrasing, from memory) 'How much longer can this possibly go on?' and 'The audience is desperate for this to end'. The film's final scene is played out simultaneously on screen and onstage with the same actors. This is followed by a dance and final theatrical scene, after which the audience is led out of the building.I found the production as a whole unengaging, shallow and the film section overlong. My feeling is that Strange Factories could work as an immersive theatre piece, or as a ten minute art film playing in a gallery, but is too insubstantial for its near three hour running time. My immediate impression was of a company that has become insular and immersed itself too completely in a work. John Harrigan writes, directs and stars, and perhaps this singular vision needs some editorial oversight. An artist creates and has no obligation to cater for a particular, or indeed any audience. However, when the medium is film or theatre, the production is made to be witnessed. To be fair, Strange Factories doesn't appear to be widely publicised and I only heard about it as an existing fan of the Facebook page of Foolish people's previous production, the very enjoyable A Virulent Experience. Perhaps if the film had attempted to develop its characters or had adhered to a more conventional narrative style it might have engaged sufficiently for me to give a fair consideration of its themes. I am sure I was not alone in not getting it, as two other audience members walked out shortly into the film. The immersive theatre was somewhat enjoyable, but it is dragged down by the ponderous film.