The Parking Lot Movie, and other existential questions

This hour long flick got a lot of press last week and the director and producer, Meaghan Eckman, called and asked me to review it. I watched it but didn’t know what to think. I asked Astrid Ambroziak, one of the non parking authors who periodically writes for PT, to write the review. Here are some highlights:

… Ms. Eckman’s film through the voices of a dozen parking lot attendants, asks existentialist questions. Who would ever think that a simple corner parking lot can delve into the theories of Jean Paul Sartre or Kierkegaard and conclude that Nietzsche was on to something when he said, “When you look into the abyss, abyss looks right back at you.” And in Charlottesville, VA, in a small parking lot, we definitely look into the abyss of our human nature.

And

At the same time, they emphasize that just as voting, parking isn’t just an entitlement but a privilege. Sadly, most of us like the jerks who park in the corner lot think the former: parking should be easy and most often free. Parking lots are perfect places to make a fool of ourselves, be rude or even throw up all that booze after our nightly binge at the bar.

And

The philosophers, poets, musicians and the anthropologists (those in particular make the best employees of this parking lot as the owner says) are not your typical parking attendants. And the bottom line is that Ms. Eckman’s film isn’t in essence about parking. Her documentary is about life. Yes, it is the existential piece. In this day and age when we are going through tough economic times, when jobs are scarce and the division between those who can afford a Ferrari (what a blasphemy to have a sports car that’s an automatic) or that new Prius covered with Hemp stickers. Perhaps now after watching this movie, we can ask ourselves a question: What is it all about? Is the customer always right even at a cost of that customer being a sanctimonious jerk?

Astrid caught the essence – I never could have done. Read her entire review in December’s PT, in the mail right after Dec 1.

JVH