I Can't Get Out of the Kitchen
From the Archives
•
5m 54s
A family quarantining together at their home in New Jersey are unable to leave their kitchen. Michelle Uranowitz directs “I Can’t Get Out of the Kitchen,” an absurdist home video filmed on an old VHS camera which is an intriguing combination of the mundane and the unexplainable. A dad makes a sandwich from salami he hid in the fridge. A mom blow dries the family dog’s hair. Their kids and their kid’s boyfriends are around, passing time in various ways. Things start to feel strange during the family’s seafood dinner. They repeatedly cheers one other, long moments of silence feed into incomplete thoughts, burps, etc. After dinner, the family can’t seem to leave the kitchen — perhaps an invisible force has trapped them there. Characterized by its jump cuts roaming through tiny moments, facial expressions, weird timings, sounds, gestures, it’s an endearingly peculiar snapshot that goes by its own logic. Uranowitz previously co-wrote and starred in “Goodbye, Brooklyn,” one of our favorite shorts from 2017.
Director, Writer, Editor, DP: Michelle Uranowitz. Cast: Brandon Uranowitz, Ken Uranowitz, Jayne Uranowitz, Zachary Prince, Daniel Jaffe.
Up Next in From the Archives
-
Swan Song
A troubled teen has one last night out with friends before her life is changed forever. Maddy Rose Figueredo’s “Swan Song” follows college student Aubrey as she navigates the social gymnastics and vices of a hard-partying friend group. Feeling sick after drinking too much, Aubrey goes to the bath...
-
When I Get Home
A young couple discuss being new parents and their own mortality. In “When I Get Home,” Nuala Sanchez compiles the audio-visual journal entries of her own parents, forming an intimate and expressive reflection on parenthood. Electronic hums hiss at a low frequency. DV footage comes into focus. On...
-
Dream Interpreter
After a series of bizarre dreams, a man turns to a computer program to decipher them. Derek Janzen and Nathan Hare work together to direct “Dream Interpreter,” a subdued sci-fi comedy where an oddly mundane cubicle world meets the anguished dreams of a young man. In khakis and a baby blue button ...