[Surreal Political Thriller] Across the Aisle || Dulvlu Spa film
Channel: Dulvlu Spa
Date: 2021-03-15

A man is offered a million dollars to switch lives with a senator on the verge of retirement. But in the USA, everyone has an agenda.

Original Produced for the Seattle 48 Hour Film Project. Across the Aisle is the third film in the film slam initiative by DSME... and the last to be released.

Across the Aisle is a political film that isn't political. A dreamlike, Lynchian or Kubrickian look into Americana. It's fun suspense, with a teasing of the mystical, but still a cold reminder of reality. It's the first DSME film to really be "of the times" it is made in... oozing with the aura of 2020 and its societal breakdowns. A gateway into the complexities of the most momentous year of the filmmakers'  lives.
There's no real indication of who's good or bad, or even what the characters really believe. It's an allegory for a republic of any time or place... so long as it has matured into decadence. Two people in such a society could be identical in all precursory ways but still be adversaries. The film illuminates an impenetrable political machine that takes us all for a ride, despite our good faiths, virtues and righteous bitchings. Your personal morals be damned when your top priority should be playing the necessary role. Only then could you MAYBE achieve whatever change it is you want. Else you might be lying in a pool of blood from your figurative-turned-literal bleeding heart. You will probably still believe what you believe after seeing "Across the Aisle", but you will be a little bit smarter about whatever those beliefs are.

No film to date has felt so disappointing yet to triumphant. This movie went through 3 directors before completion under Dulvlu Spa. Tyler Templeton returns as a cinematographer, co-editor and co-writer to keep the project alive. DSME heavyweights Michael Delisle and Bri Dague fill a solid supporting cast. A fresh set of new talent was brought in to ensure Across the Aisle was something different and much, much better for DSME. 
Brandon Hartsock designed blood effects fit for an 80s Hollywood slasher, and Neal Cabanos' featured role at the beginning of the film gives us a warm welcome to an unforgiving experience. Meanwhile, Dulvlu Spa directs, writes, edits, and stars in both lead roles while supervising/creating the many special effects.

The making of Across the Aisle was the longest and most complicated post-production cycle of all the DSME film slams. For a time, it laid in wait for eventual release at 9 minutes. Extensive re-writes, re-shooting, and then RE-re-shooting tripled the length of the movie and saw its release occur 8 months behind schedule. A majority of those 8 months were for fixing plotholes and working out all brand-new effects. Not to mention that most of this film was shot and edited during the 2020 lockdowns, recession, riots, election and the massive spike in depression on top of all of that. Dulvlu could only amass crews as large as 2 people in order to evade regulation and busybodies. Still, regulation would catch up to some, as the first [of three] directors for Across the Aisle would go to prison for armed robbery before the film came out.

Somehow, the film became an unwitting opus for DSME... a showcase for a small film company that has now become ready for a new league of contemporary-minded movies that are equally cerebral and visceral. All the effects, acting, writing, camera, music and directing skills of DSME at the time are on full display here. Rarely does a short film cover so much ground while remaining focused. This is the king of the slam projects, and the last DSME film that will be free to watch (on its premiere).

A fine payoff for all the nights spent learning effects work from scratch, and the scar tissue from the very real head wound seen ten and a half minutes in. It happened after a practical joke went wrong, and Dulvlu lied saying it was makeup in order to keep on schedule. Turned out to not matter since the movie wouldn't release for another 21 months. It's uncertain if the 2019 Seattle 48 Hour Film festival even screened the terrible 9 minute cut. Certainly it would've hurt more than the car door that split Dulvlu's face open.

{Additional Credits)
Poster by Dulvlu Spa