The Girl Chewing Gum

Who has never dreamed of playing God, of sitting in the Great Director's chair in the sky just for a while? This film plays with this desire using a role-reversal trick. Filmmaker John Smith constantly gives directions over images produced by a static camera: “Now I want the man on the left to cross the street,”  giving the impression that the seemingly random London street scenes have been deliberately created. It seems like actors are following his directions with the greatest precision, even though they look for all the world like accidental passersby. When the director's voice stops for a few seconds, all structure to the scenes is lost. The incessant ringing of a bell is so irritating that we want to urge the director to intervene and seize control of his film again. The Girl Chewing Gum is a simple yet effective joke, which throws out interesting questions along the lines of “What came first, the chicken or the egg,” and examines the human desires to bring order to chaos and to find a deeper meaning in everything. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)