A Day with the Boys

source: A Day with the Boys

I first saw this film in a small theater in Gainesville, Florida 1974. I remember the theater in total silence as the end credits rolled...we were deeply affected. I have not forgotten this movie, perhaps bits and pieces, but certainly not the overall feeling I had after watching it. Now, after 25 years, I find myself wanting to see this movie again...if I could find it!

Attention, do not read on if you do not want to be spoiled on this short film. I trust, however, that if you're coming to IMDb to read about a little 20-minute movie that can easily be found on YouTube, then you've watched it already (as you should). Others here have done a fine job praising the virtues of this movie's revolutionary (pun intended--as you'll see) film style and cinematography. Those tributes are well-deserved and universally accepted. On the other hand the message behind "A Day with the Boys" seems to be greatly misunderstood; almost every review I've read online or heard on a podcast has had a different take on what the movie's trying to tell us. What seems to be a common mistake--from my point of view--for many viewers (and reviewers) is that they take the movie at face-value; that is, they don't seem to "read-into" this film at all. For them the short is a horror movie about boys who lure people to their deaths by tricking them into thinking they're all innocence when in actuality they're cold-blooded killers. I was dumbfounded when I first read this kind of take, and nonplussed when it was repeated over and over by those promoting Gulager's short on various horror sites. I don't understand how a movie that toys with convention throughout most of its runtime could possibly be mistaken for intending a very literalistic ending. By its constant, unique use of cross-cutting and overlapping images, I felt--from my initial viewing--this movie was preparing me to see this a twist on a concept . . . it wanted me to understand it was going to overlay the playfulness of these boys with something else. It turned out that "something" was some of the absurd sensibilities of adulthood. For me, the message of this film trumpets the lunacy of wartime behavior--particularly in men. It was made at the height of the Vietnam conflict when the public's outrage at the atrocities (at times) committed by our own "civilized" military was most vocal. The director is very effective at showing us how insane it is that innocent, playful, friendly boys without a care in the world can grow up to become people who treat other humans as nothing more than an object to kill and roll into a ditch. At the same time he's showing us the madness of how a normal, work-a-day businessman--or golfer, librarian or even a little girl playing with her dollies--can just be going about his life one day, and the next unexpectedly become the fodder of war. Gulager is brilliant at superimposing these realities upon one another in an effort to wake the public up. How could these fun, carefree little boys commit such barbaric acts? The truth is they couldn't--it wouldn't be possible . . . until you add a few years and the right circumstances onto them. Then they, and everyone else around them, can forget who they used to be; now, as adults, they've set aside those ridiculous, childish notions of innocence and fun and are dealing with important, serious issues that require the death of others! Now, as adults, it's perfectly sensible to kill businessmen, librarians, mothers, little girls and anyone else who happens across their path--within certain contingencies. To me, that's the message of this movie in spades. It is chilling--even more than when viewed as a "Children of the Corn"-type of horror movie. If that's how you saw it when you watched it ("Children of the Corn"), then please watch it again. I've always wanted to see something--a book, a movie--portray the absurdities of war from this point of view. The first time such a perspective dawned on me was when I was required to interpret the famous poem of Thomas Hardy in high school, "The Man He Killed." The poem's about the craziness of shooting down a man during battle, a man who, in any other circumstance, he might treat to a drink if he met him at a tavern. The last lines are: "Yes; quaint and curious war is! You shoot a fellow down You'd treat, if met where any bar is, Or help to half a crown."

Truly one of the finest examples of ultra-creative late 60's avant garde filmmaking. And so perfectly captures the haunting, mysterious, dreamy, metaphoric and visually poetic style of the time. Perhaps better than anything has or ever will. Clu Gulager was a tormented demented genius who serves as another unfortunate example of how "being too brilliant" as an artist trying to work in the realistic arena of the film industry, often simply can not work out. At least not within this dimension on this planet.

'A Day with the Boys' is a very unique and experimental short film. My first experience with the film came with the special features of David Gordon Green's 'George Washington.' This film was described as being an influence on 'George Washington,' but it is perhaps best to view the film without thinking about Green's work. A similarity between the two is apparent, but the films are almost nothing alike. I was surprised at how affected I was by the film given its short running time and lack of dialogue. It featured a fresh and original stylistic approach that some may unfortunately misinterpret as an attempt to be overly artsy. Viewing the film with an open mind is a requirement in order to fully appreciate its message. possible spoiler: This film is perhaps one of the more disturbing films I've ever seen. Not bloody or gory like most horror films, but disturbing nonetheless. I was really shocked by how much I continued to think about this film in the days following my first viewing. On a lighter note: Why are all of the kids unsupervised and alone at 6 in the morning? They should be inside watching cartoons if they are awake at all.

Michael Hertel, not listed, but what a great actor!!! This movie is by far the best shorts ever. The Directing is remarkable. A must see for everyone!!! What ever became of Michael Hertel?? This Movie appears just be a cute day with the boys at first. But the suspense builds and builds. The ending is a climax which will never be forgotten.

"A Day with the Boys" by Clu Gulager follows a group of boys as they are playing war games of childhood.The boys are only playing:burying the adult character/businessman alive after quick execution.Suddenly the camera is panning to reveal that they have killed others.The grave of the victim is marked with his suitcase and there are three similar graves marked with their own deceased occupants' emblems:an umbrella,a basket and a child's doll.Gorgeously photographed by Laszlo Kovacs "A Day with the Boys" looks like a painting with freeze-frames and dissolving images.The innocent darkness within children is stunningly revealed.An unsettling and poignant work of art.9 out of 10.

Clu Gulager is a familiar face as a veteran character actor. I had no idea he had briefly gone in for directing at one time and made this fine short, in the sixties poetic / experimental mode. Note: this short is on the Criterion Collection DVD of "George Washington", evidently because David Gordon Green felt influenced by it. I'm glad it has been retrieved from the archives and made available to viewers of today's independent cinema. Green comments on the painterly visual effects (cinematography by László Kovács!), but the more obvious similarities are thematic: the world of kids in the semi-rural south, and how the world of adults impinges on them (and vice versa here of course).

A Great Film, the visuals, the music, the times. I was 8 years old when the film came out, but oddly enough I can relate to it, more so on a subconscious level as I hardly remember being eight. The visuals affect me deeply, as well as the music. Someone pointed out it being haunting, I definitely got the same feeling. The movie made me cry, but I don't know why, at least not on a conscious level. The story line does remind me of when I was a kid, a time when kids played outdoors using nothing more than their imagination and whatever they could find to play with and being content. Also it reminded me of a carefree time of boys being boys. A must to watch and enjoy!

Boy, there must have been a real dearth/scarcity of film fests back then!? (Not that being Nom'd for the Palme d' Or is chicken feed!!) But no others? Very odd! Re: whomever's comment about Clu being "demented," he didn't seem that way to me, although I guess he had somewhat of a rep as an actor. Numerous actors who really care about their craft and/or are simply real people do have such days (or weeks, or years), so...!? His interview on the DVD of "The Killers" is very lucid, although it may have been rehearsed? No idea! But this is a really terrific short film; it's worth renting "Geogre Washington" just to watch it, imo!!!