Succinctly Synoptic: – Two friends – walking wounded lost souls to be honest – are trekking through some Michigan woods on a mission. The goal of their mission becomes clearer to the audience slowly (very slowly, painfully slowly) in the course of the movie. The two do accomplish what they sat out to do; only one – uh oh – returns home to face friends, neighbors, family members, acquaintances and the consequences there of – and of the law as well, their actions equivalent to the kind of happenings that inspire headline stories appearing in grisly tabloid publications like the old The National Enquirer – and, of course, YouTube.
Members of the posse write that the film was funny and comedic and deserving of applause but this reviewer decided after several look-sees to write his review that VULCANIZADORA had as much comedy as one would find in news broadcasts like that of the Trump-Vance-Zelenssky February 28, 2025 press conference in the White House where, for all the world to see, those of an antediluvian, neanderthal mindset excoriated Zelenssky for trying to ignite World War III without fistfuls of flesh-melting, thermonuclear weapons at the ready.
It didn’t take too long that I felt the visceral twinge of an epiphany like a lightning bolt, only not fatal: This reviewer was unfamiliar with the oeuvre of award-winning Director Joel Potrykus as other reviewers were yet was ready to write – wrongly – about the lack of comedy – and there were other negative reflections but thank the gods they never made to this page. Not only was I unaware of the director’s work, I was unaware of his style, manner, approach to making movies.
The first bolt of lightning enlightment: The film aficionados were well familiar – almost to the point of being cultish about Potrykus’ work – and that key characters were reincarnations of characters from earlier films by Potrykus – as well as themes and tropes and the like.
The second bolt: A bleak-ish, dark, sardonic, morbid, apocalyptic humor coursing through the movie dulled for this writer-reviewer by the 84 minutes, 49 seconds of running time.
This reviewer-writer came to realize that if VULCANIZADORA was 20-30 minutes shorter, he could rate it 5 stars.
On to the Review
Films imbued with symbolism and metaphors can enrich audiences’ cinematic experience with additional depth, nuance, and emotional resonances to a storytelling. They can allow filmmakers to convey complex ideas and themes in a visually compelling and thought-provoking manner. A designated absurdist existential film can be, in the right hands, a cinematic exploration of the inherent meaninglessness and absurdity of existence exploring themes of freedom, choice, and the human condition in a meaningless universe.
Such films may feature surreal narratives, eccentric and bizarre characters as well as a focus on the unpredictability and randomness of life, mirroring an absurdist perspective that life lacks inherent purpose or order.
Left: Derek Skiba played by Director Joel Potrykus. Picture Courtesy Oscilliscope
Martin “Marty” Jackitansky played by Joshua Burge. Picture Courtesy Oscilliscope
Picture Courtesy Oscilliscope
The What-Is-VULCANIZADORA-(2025)-About Film Review
Some audience members may find VULCANIZADORA befuddling and squeamish while others may gasp about the slapstick and other genres and sub-genres of comedy, may be even bitchin’ comedy beyond belief. Still others my consider it existentially dreadful – and so on … and so forth. {This reviewer wondered in the course of doing his review if there was a demographic breakdown according to viewers’ and reviewers’ race, class, religion … and so on … and so forth.
Demographics should be taken into consideration in these times of what many pundits, philosophers, historians and the men and women in the street won’t hesitate saying – and that is: The country is incredibly polarized and at odds on many sociopolitical “things.”
Anyway, on with the narrative: Derek Skiba played by Director Joel Potrykus and Martin “Marty” Jackitansky played by Joshua Burge, two buddies portrayed as close friends, trek into a woods somewhere in Michigan for what is said to be a camping trip but there is more to the trek, way more than that. The real reason is slowly – and I mean slowly – made aware to the audience. Derek is a divorced and grappling with depression; and he has a young son. Derek wants his pain to end.
Marty, recently released from jail, wants his pain to end also. He is already facing new charges.The pair’s journey, filled with jousts of firework launchings and reminiscing over porn magazines, covers up for most of the movie the deeper unsettling purpose they plan to use to end all their suffering. The what’s-this-movie-about ends here so that this writer-reviewer can dance around the landmines of spoiling but there should be enough hints from the trailers and stuff to tip off audiences, at least the savvy, the existential ferment of this movie.
Note: VULCANIZADOR is shot on 16mm film by cinematographer Adam J. Minnick. Cinematographers sometimes shoot with 16mm film cameras for several key aesthetic and practical reasons, such as to try to eveoke nostalgia, rawness, or authenticity. Sometimes because it’s believe that 16 mm can evoke a retro or documentary feel. And last but not least 16mm film is cheaper to shoot and process than 35mm film; 16mm cameras are more compact and lightweight, making them easier to use in tight spaces, handheld setups, or run-and-gun documentary shooting.
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Filmmaker Bios
Writer-Director-Editor-Actor Joel Potrykus: Resides in Grand Rapids, MI where he works with a filmmaking band, Sob Noisse, including long-time collaborator Joshua Burge. His films Ape, Buzzard, The Alchemist Cookbook, and Relaxer have premiered at the SXSW Film Festival, Locarno Film Festival, and have screened at the Lincoln Center and the MoMa. He teaches filmmaking at Grand Valley State University.
Ashley Potrykus Producer: From Grand Rapids, Michigan, best known for her work with director Joel Potrykus. Their debut feature Ape won Best New Director at the 2012 Locarno Film Festival and was released by Factory 25. She went on to produce features Buzzard (SXSW, 2014), The Alchemist Cookbook (SXSW, 2016) and Relaxer (SXSW, 2018), all distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories.
Hannah Dweck Producer: Founder of Dweck Productions to focus on unconventional stories and boundary-pushing cinema. Under Hannah’s leadership, Dweck Productions produced Jane Schoenbrun’s We’re All Going To The World’s Fair (Sundance 2021, acquired by HBO Max/Utopia), Theodore Schaefer’s Giving Birth to a Butterfly (Fantasia 2021, acquired by Cinedigm), Dustin Guy Defa’s The Adults (Berlin 2023, acquired by Universal worldwide) starring Michael Cera, Hannah Gross, and Sophia Lillis, and Haley Elizabeth Anderson’s feature debut Tendaberry (Sundance 2024).
Dweck co-directed/produced the feature documentary Guest House (Austin Film Festival 2019), which was honored by the Vera Institute of Justice. Her horror short Deliver premiered at Maryland Film Festival 2022.
Matt Grady Producer: Founder of Factory 25, an independent film production and distribution company launched in 2009. Factory 25 is a home for conceptually provocative narratives and documentaries. Grady was named “One of the Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture,” by Brooklyn Magazine and has been called “One of the most important curatorial voices of new, independent American films.”
His mission is to expose the world to under-the-radar films, music, and other curiosities theatrically and digitally, as well as on TV, VOD, VHS, vinyl LPs and books.
Factory 25 titles include: Joel Potrykus’ Ape, This Closeness, Family Portrait, Sun Don’t Shine, Actual People, Ham on Rye, Other Music, All This Panic, MA, Sylvio, August at Akiko’s, Uncle Kent 2, Stinking Heaven, Alex Ross Perry’s The Color Wheel, All the Light in the Sky and the restoration of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize winning film In the Soup by Alexandre Rockwell which premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival in 2018.
Grady also produced Nathan Silver’s Tribeca Fest premiering, The Great Pretender, Onur Tukel’s Applesauce and Summer of Blood, Theodore Collatos & Carolina Monnerat’s Queen of Lapa along with You Mean Everything to Me by Bryan Wizemann, and Inspector Ike by Graham Mason. Factory 25’s headquarters are located in Brooklyn.
Theodore Schaefer Producer: A New York-based Director and Producer. His feature film debut, Giving Birth to a Butterfly, premiered at the Fantasia International Film Festival to critical acclaim. The New York Times praised the film’s “enthralling sense of atmosphere” and Film Threat called it “Donnie Darko meets Twin Peaks.” The film was released theatrically by Cinedigm and Fandor in 2023.
Theodore’s recent commercial work, includes the viral Blockbuster ad that won three Cannes Lions, including the Gold prize for Breakthrough on a Budget (2023). Online his work has garnered over 20 million views, along with write-ups from Deadline, New York Mag, The Huffington Post, and television coverage on CNN and FOX. Through Dweck Productions, Theodore has produced a slate of successful features, including We’re All Going To The World’s Fair (Sundance 2021, released by Utopia and HBO MAX) and The Adults (Berlin 2023, released by Universal), and the forthcoming Tendaberry (Sundance 2024).
Theodore’s drive as both a filmmaker and producer is to create unique stories and be a champion for independent cinema.
Adam J. Minnick Cinematographer: Known for his work on Buzzard (2014), Actor Martinez (2016), Chained For Life (2018) and Relaxer (2018). He has worked extensively in both film and digital formats. Minnick received a B.F.A. in Photography at Colorado State University. He lives in Austin, Texas.
Director Joel Potrykus, says the New York Times, Is a Maestro of Despair and Discomfort. “Auditorium Movendum Caveat Ab Hoc Cinematographico,” so says the WORD
Cast Bios
Joshua Burge as Martin Jackitansky: Michigan native Joshua Burge has appeared in The Revenant opposite Leonardo DiCaprio, 20th Century Women opposite Greta Gerwig, and Burden opposite Garrett Hedlund, which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Relaxer, Burge’s third collaboration with filmmaker Joel Potrykus, premiered to great reviews at SXSW. This collaboration follows Ape (2012) and Buzzard (2014), the latter of which also made its world premiere at SXSW and was named one of Indiewire’s top films of the year.
the WORD Editor, Reviewer, Gregg W. Morris