An Approximation of their Barbarous Manners (2021)

Directed by: Christian Serritiello | 12 minutes | short film, drama | Actors: Bruce Glover, Dulcie Smart, Scott Coffey, Kristen Bush, Jade Willis, Bruce A. Woolley, Giovanni Morassutti, Wilhelm Hein, Daniel Brunet, Matthew Higgins, Arthur Patching, Simone Spinazze, Hailong Zhang, Melissa Holroyd, Annette Frick, Elena Francalanci, Oussama Cherif, Blessing Osadolor, Binks Mooney, Inga Hamelmann, Louise Hamelmann, Christian Serritiello

Born in 1932, actor Bruce Glover is best known for his supporting roles in “Chinatown” (as Duffy, colleague of Jake Gittes) and “Diamonds Are Forever” (as Mr. Wint, who works as a hit man for Blofeld). Although his most productive years are long behind him, the actor is still active in 2021. In ‘An Approximation of their Barbarous Manners’ – shot just before the lockdown by Covid 19, we see that his commitment to participate in a (fictional) film is even sufficient reason for another actor to participate.

Tangier, Morocco, 2019. The start of the shooting of a film, but the protagonist, Bruce Glover, appears to have disappeared. No one knows where he is and slowly panic breaks out in the director. He has gathered a large cast around him, if the protagonist is not there, what is left of the tight schedule?

‘An Approximation of their Barbarous Manners’ is a short, experimental film shot in beautiful black and white. The film begins with an introduction to Bruce Glover’s career. In close-up, he recites a poem or something similar and tells an anecdote about working with Roman Polanski, but it’s the combination of his voice and body language that makes you think this man is pretty confused. The disappearance of the set therefore comes as no surprise.

The dynamics on the set change immediately. The cast and crew are getting more and more stressed. Is the project lost now that the protagonist seems to have disappeared from the face of the earth? What does this mean for the rest? Filmmaker Christian Serritiello uses an avant-garde style, alienating the viewer from what is shown with distorted sound and unusual effects. That works out well here, because it adds a layer of mystery. Ambitious short film that provides a fascinating insight into the ins and outs of a set. It makes us curious about Serritiello’s next work.