In spite of all the hype from film students and film purists about how beautiful celluloid  is, and how it will never in a million years be replaced by any digital format, I find that the vast majority of student projects look uglier on film than they would on video.

It results from a combination of factors, including timidity on the part of the filmmakers, poor black and white cinematography skills, and a host of processing, transfer and print storage issues.  More often than not you wind up with something grainy, grayish, slightly fuzzy, and full of scratches and dirt.

Ethan's film, however, uses this medium exceptionally well.  The advantage of 16mm B&W film is that it registers textures far better than video: here we're presented with numerous textural landscapes, from the faces of the characters, to the details of their environments; floors, walls, fabrics, hands, everything down to the mechanics of bicycles and walkie talkies.

In 10 Speed we're brought in close to all kinds of surfaces, but never left there to stare: it's a kinetic portrait, where the camera moves expertly and freely among the different objects and characters.

In a way, the simple plot is more of a staging ground than anything else: a constellation of signifiers, set in motion as a test, an obstacle course for the camera to navigate.

Which it does, impeccably.