SYNOPSIS
Twice
Today
is a highly metaphorical journey into the last
moments of Joe Oliver. A man who is paralyzed from
the waist down and at the end of his rope. As he
ponders escape from his tragic and guilt-ridden
past, he sits with a pistol on his lap and takes one
last moment to reflect on the events that have
culminated to his despair. These events are
displayed through the lives of some small town
citizens. In particular, the stories are related
through the tales of four separate groups; two
grade-school bullies rebelling against all that is
good, a group of three dishonest teenagers who spend
all of their earnings on drugs, a young couple whose
relationship is on shaky ground due to dishonesty
between the two, and a mother and daughter moving
back to the mother’s hometown in which the daughter
is having difficulty coping with the idea of her
parents getting a divorce. It is through the tales
of these groups that the town becomes a macrocosm
for Joe’s own life; the events in his life are shown
as repeating in the lives of the current town
residents. Filled with anger, guilt, and horrors
committed against humanity, Twice Today establishes
its place as a social commentary and a call for
change. Shot on Super 16mm film in the winter of
2001. This was Taeoalii's debut on the film medium.
Screen image of Nick Watts
CREDITS producers: Joshua Tai Taeoalii, Jeremy Nielsen, Adam
J. Woolsey & Wendee Whitlock director: Joshua Tai Taeoalii
starring:
Don Shanks, David Stevens, Britt Leary, Jodi
Russell, Bus Reilly, Rebecca Hunt, Emilee Barber,
Adam J. Woolsey, Theresa Ravnikar, Jimmy Smooth,
Brady Sturgeon, Nick Watts, JJ Neward.
editors: Joshua Tai Taeoalii & Jeremy Nielsen music by: Melt Brothers Sound Lab director of photography: Jeremy Nielsen exectuive producers: Adam J. Woolsey & Wendee
Whitlock story by: Joshua Tai Taeoalii, Jeremy Nielsen
& Adam J. Woolsey screenplay by: Joshua Tai Taeoalii
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT Twice Today is a universal story with
emotions people all over the world can understand.
As we'd like to portray our lives as perfect, the
undercoating of drama and problems finds it's way
through anyone's reflection. Our main character is
as average as the next man, but through his eyes,
he's led a less than perfect existence and would
complete it all with suicide. The four stories that
we experience through Joe's life are actual events
that took place in my own existence, leaving me with
confidence that everyday people will connect with
all of our characters.
AWARDS & FESTIVALS
-
Official Selection at the 2000 AngelCiti Film
Festival in Hollywood, California.
- Best Amateur Feature Film at the
2001 Real to Reel
Film Festival in Shelby, North Carolina.
TRAILER
REVIEW by Troy Williams
The Event Weekly
It's always a relief knowing that there is more
going on cinematically in Utah than just bad
episodes of Touched By An Angel. In fact, you
don't have to head to California to find the next
crop of cutting-edge filmmakers. Utah is raising
it's own. Case in point: Joshua Tai Taeoalii.
Twice Today is an edgy commentary on the cycles of
dysfunction that have reverberated through the life
of Joe Oliver. The drama of his misspent life is
reflected through the lives of four separate groups
of neighbors. The drama of drug abuse, infidelity
and delinquency escalate to disaster as Joe
contemplates ending the tragedy of his life.
Taeoalii has a strong command of the cinematic art
form. He weaves us successfully through the tangled
lives of small-town misfits searching for
redemption. He is an articulate director who
captures all the angst and pathos of those living on
the fringe of society: the junkie, the punk, the
looser, the whore, the crippled and the betrayed.
These are real people with whom we feel an affinity
as we are completely drawn into their lives.
And technically, Taeoalii is a true artist. His
composition and editing abilities are at times
breathtaking. Many of his scenes are as competent
(and some more so) as anything out of Hollywood. One
juxtaposed sequence involving a bathroom rendezvous
and a parental revelation of adultery is one of the
most captivating scenes I've experienced this year.
The film has rough edges though, and not all of the
metaphors totally work for me. I found Joe Oliver,
whose life the film symbolically depicts, the least
compelling of all the individual narratives. I was
completely absorbed by the other characters and
almost resented Joe's reflexive confessional. I got
the point and moral lesson without Joe having to
explain it.
Taeoalii's storytelling has already accomplished
this end. But I'm being nitpicky. So parts of
Twice Today are rough. Big deal. I am sold on
the film and in Taeoalii's ability to craft an
intriguing tale. The minor issues I have are
overshadowed by the realization that we have a
terrific local filmmaker who is only going to be
getting better.
