'Waiting for the Bus' presents a special private screening in Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES - May 31, 2022 - PRLog -- In the atmospheric mystery-comedy that is "Waiting for the Bus," Ethan F. Allen plays a regular guy having to be situated in one spot for longer than he'd like, which represents a regular situation for any of us. His character, Max Zelzah, doesn't necessarily want to be there, but he has to be there. When he finds himself abruptly confronted by the handful of Los Angelenos, such as Melody (Lisa Laureta) with her two dogs and her post-modern behaviors battling his old-school mentalities, or Mac (Alex Pierce-Ling) with his anti-government, Bigfoot-is-real manic propaganda, or Chauncy (Steve Fix) spouting crazy all over the screen, there's a lot of conflict, but also some agreeance. This film tells those humble campfire stories spoken by the elders in the late evenings. These types of stories are detailed, broad strokes of the brush - as director Dena Derakhshan moves the picture along with little hints of what the finale is going towards. The story itself ranges from comedic to maddening personas we all deal with. Each person that shows up is wildly different from each other, they are all connected by the same way of being residents of a big city.

There isn't much scenery to watch for, but that forces us to look into the characters. This is the director's second feature to direct. This film, along with previous works, have been relatively small projects for such a director who highlights action-thriller concepts in a handful of shots interlaced between the dialog. These best ideas win and when there's a dominance of people and ideas involved, a few of them are going to spark. Said sparks are the careers of many involved for years to come.

The audiences are not ignorant as they were decades ago. The way to capture their spirit and dollars is by immersing them with characters that are interesting and realistic, with just a burst of over-the-top. This is what today's audiences crave and desire to be like those same characters.

The co-screenwriter, Deborah Huerta, has a way to show by hinting the characters talking about their own immediate needs while influencing what their true agendas are. Huerta brings in random quips that make you double-take while watching. This makes the film a dark-comedy of sorts that has an air of mystery that keeps your eyes glued.

"Waiting for the Bus" was filmed a few months after the Covid vaccines were available and filmed with a minimal cast and crew. The rocky camera work shows this, but it also feels as though it was meant to be Cinéma vérité. It's a culmination of pairing 1970s French New Wave blended into a new American art form.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19045890/