I may have to turn in my cool kids club card, but this film failed miserably for me. A wordless film should never be assumed to be a thoughtless one, and to call this thoughtless is indeed too harsh. But not well thought out, I think that is fair.
Other reviewers are finding more in this film than I truly believe exists. Water and secrets. The need for touch among the disconnected. Can I applaud the reviewers, and yet decry the film itself? Whereas it might have made a mysterious and intriguing short, stretching it to feature length made for a belabored exercise. And as for expressive acting, I just didn't see that. It was as convincing as the motorcycle accident. Or as the meeting between the main character and his apparent former flame on the escalator.
Toss in bad dubbing (not the dialog, just general foley sound) and a love for shots that goes on 10X too long. Talking about the old man urinating, the yellow towel after the lover spurns the wife, and really any scene in the dark. Ugh...
Don't get me wrong, I love films about alienation, but if every character is as rooted as the mannequin floating in the river, there is no connection from the start.
At times I thought of the Japanese film, Tetsuo : The Iron Man, I'd say see that film instead. It has alienation and infection and yet action and expression.
1/10 Thurston Hunger
Other reviewers are finding more in this film than I truly believe exists. Water and secrets. The need for touch among the disconnected. Can I applaud the reviewers, and yet decry the film itself? Whereas it might have made a mysterious and intriguing short, stretching it to feature length made for a belabored exercise. And as for expressive acting, I just didn't see that. It was as convincing as the motorcycle accident. Or as the meeting between the main character and his apparent former flame on the escalator.
Toss in bad dubbing (not the dialog, just general foley sound) and a love for shots that goes on 10X too long. Talking about the old man urinating, the yellow towel after the lover spurns the wife, and really any scene in the dark. Ugh...
Don't get me wrong, I love films about alienation, but if every character is as rooted as the mannequin floating in the river, there is no connection from the start.
At times I thought of the Japanese film, Tetsuo : The Iron Man, I'd say see that film instead. It has alienation and infection and yet action and expression.
1/10 Thurston Hunger