Dave Made a Maze

Dave Made a Maze is a captivating and inventive indie film that premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2017. This American fantasy adventure comedy was directed by Bill Watterson, and it stars Nick Thune, Meera Rohit Kumbhani, Adam Busch, Stephanie Allynne, and James Urbaniak, among others.

The title of the film directly hints at the main plotline -- Dave, a frustrated artist played by Nick Thune, builds a maze. Not just a small, table-top labyrinth, but a labyrinth of massive proportions. One day, while his girlfriend, Annie, portrayed by Meera Rohit Kumbhani, is out, Dave constructs a fort out of cardboard boxes inside their living room. At first glance, it appears to be your run-of-the-mill living room fort; however, the structure conceals an intricate, oversized maze that Dave has somehow fashioned within the confines of their small apartment.

Annie comes home to discover that Dave has inexplicably trapped himself inside his cardboard creation. Despite it looking like an innocuous fort from the outside, Dave insists that he is lost in a massive, complex network of rooms and passageways. Trying to communicate from inside the maze, Dave warns Annie not to come in after him, describing the immense scale and bewildering complexity of his creation. Taken aback and understandably concerned, Annie enlists the help of their friends to launch a rescue mission.

Throughout the film, characters played by a talented ensemble cast, including James Urbaniak, Adam Busch, and John Hennigan, portray a comically ill-prepared rescue team. They equipped themselves with homemade cardboard weapons to brace themselves for possible encounters with a variety of challenges that Dave claims to have integrated inside the maze, including booby traps and a Minotaur.

The film paints a vivid picture with its unique and creative production values. The entire maze, made almost entirely of cardboard, is an impressive and amusing spectacle. The various settings within the maze range from surreal landscapes, bizarre traps, and abstract puzzles, all represented through imaginative and artistic craftwork. Paper puppets, stop-motion figures, and exceptional production design play an essential role in sustaining the viewers' interest. This quirkiness adds a fascinating layer to the plot of the film.

Despite its light-hearted comedy and overt surrealism, Dave Made a Maze addresses deeper themes like self-doubt, frustration, ambition, and the anxiety of an artist struggling to create something truly original and meaningful. Dave’s cardboard labyrinth can be seen as a physical manifestation of his inner world – grappling with existential crises, artistic ambitions, and fear of creating something inconsequential.

The writing, full of clever wit and humor, is handled by Steve Sears and Bill Watterson themselves. Their skillful storytelling keeps the audience engaged till the end. This film also explores themes of relationships as we witness the dynamics of Dave’s interactions with his girlfriend, Annie, who displays both confusion and understandable frustration at her boyfriend’s bizarre project but chooses to stand by him. The film thus explores the theme of love in the backdrop of this unusual scenario – effortlessly intertwining hilarity, anxiety, surrealism, and emotional depth.

In terms of cinematography, the film employs innovative techniques that accentuate the fantastical essence of the narrative. Also, the music score is carefully chosen to suit the film's quirky and fantastical atmosphere, amplifying the viewer's experience.

Dave Made a Maze has a lot to offer in terms of genre – it’s a comedy, a suspense, a fantasy-adventure, and a character study, all neatly packed into one. It captures the viewer’s attention with its witty dialogue, well-thought-out characters, and oddly brilliant narrative. The authentic performances of the entire cast, specifically Thune and Kumbhani, add another layer of depth to the story.

In conclusion, Dave Made A Maze is a creatively adventurous film. With its unusual story, compelling performances, insightful play on themes, and unique aesthetic features, the film provides an entertaining watch and a thought-provoking reflection on the artistic process and personal growth. Whether you’re an art enthusiast seeking metaphorical meaning or you simply want a good laugh intertwined with creativity, this indie gem will surely keep you entertained.