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Performances have an earthy authenticity even within this wacky environment, and even with minimal dialog. At the centre, Vargas gives Diego a likeable sense of hopefulness. Vargas has a lost-puppy quality that's remarkably endearing. And he portrays Diego's curiosity as a superpower that allows him to navigate this undefined job and even somehow thrive both at work and with his coworkers. His odyssey is perhaps too silly to be properly moving, but Vargas finds some strong moments along the way, especially with Park's more opaque June.

This is a quietly observant film about the inventive things people do to survive in situations that seem to be completely alien, Characters have idiosyncratic ways of connecting with others, finding places that provide an escape or creating drama where none is needed. But each person is simply doing the best they can, even if their earnest efforts seem ridiculous to almost everyone else. Castaneda sometimes seems to forget that this idea is far more interesting than whether June will win the big filing tournament.

themes, language, violence

5.Oct.22

Mitich has strong presence as the steely Eileen, whose short temper fuels her superpowers. Threats against her daughter are a rather simplistic motivation, but Mitich sells it. Tchortov's Roger is even more hotheaded than Eileen, so watching these two bump heads makes us wonder how they ever got together in the first place, especially when we discover that Eileen is a brainy physicist while Roger plays with metal band. More interesting is their growing cooperation as they try to work out how they can possibly escape from this room.

There are several moments along the way that abandon logic (why try to move a bolted-down table instead of a tiny ball?). But even if it's untextured, the way Eileen and Roger connect with each other while restoring her memory has some resonance, especially as it hints at twists to come. Indeed, the surreal final 20 minutes push things further than expected. But almost everything about this movie is gimmicky. The skilful visuals might be sharp enough to entertain genre fans, but even they will be frustrated by the pointlessness of it all.

themes, language, violence

29.Sep.22

Performances are a bit oversized, but are effective in the vivid interaction. Bridges goes full-on with Orson, a man who sacrifices everything in his life for his art, which isn't as noble as he thinks it is. But his quick-thinking continually saves the day. His banter with Schreiner has some nice bite to it. The surrounding ensemble adds weight, with particularly engaging work from Tudor and Haynes (as a key actress), while Tardy and Watson get some strongly textured moments all their own.

The script is a bit of a mishmash of ideas and topical commentary, some of which feels rather anachronistic. And several of the incidents portrayed seem apocryphal. But the depiction of non-actors rising to the challenge of Shakespeare is beautifully rendered, as are the societal issues woven throughout each characters' experience. It's also a wonderful reminder of the power of storytelling itself, an idea wonderfully echoed in stunning archival footage of the actual 1936 production during the closing credits.

themes, language

13.Oct.22