Around The Fire

Around the Fire
USA, 1998; 107 minutes
Director: John Jacobsen
Screenplay: Tommy Rosen, John Comerford
Cast: Devon Sawa, Eric Mabius, Tara Reid

Reviewed by:
Linda Lane,
Seattle International Film Festival

Around The Fire is a microcosm of Californian filmmaking and story telling ability. It is a polished, clean, bright Californian investment product with a message. It is beautifully filmed (the colors were a delight) and carefully edited. The sound was wonderful. This movie has the quality of a love letter from one generation to the next, a message about dealing with your problems up front, rather than using the medicinal qualities of drugs to mask them. All the characters in the movie were believable and well acted. The father in particular was well played in his energetic response to his son.

The handing of the drug paraphernalia was done very well, in the manner of the hypnotic trance which precedes using. These people know drugs. The LSD chemist's house scene when we meet the chemist's assistants just standing in the kitchen tripping was a wonderful, twisted, uncomfortable scene and the audience loved it ("How weird can it get?"). I liked the rehab scenes and snatches from the past, an older film technique was used here effectively. The nod throughout to the young man's wealthy Jewish heritage was refreshing, as the message comes across that this can happen to anyone.