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Opposite side of the track

by South Island films

Reviews

Due to us starting straight in on this film with no title card, I was left a bit disoriented for the first 30 seconds or so (a fault of the screening I assume, not the film). But eventually we established that the two men facing off across the table were a doctor and former patient, with some unspecified medical mishap having caused the latter's life to fall apart, and the present situation being an opportunity for the now-homeless man to exact revenge. Beyond that the details started to get a bit hazy - who was this woman facilitating revenge services? Who hired her? Or was she doing this for another reason? Who was the other guy in the room that she shot? And who's going to replace all those lightbulbs in the room that have blown? While I mentioned above being disoriented by being dumped in the deep end of the story, on the other hand it's always great to be dropped into the middle of the action, rather than wasting time on unnecessary setup. I also appreciated the commitment to a genre style (a sort of Crime Thriller / Gangster vibe, I guess), both in terms of the lighting and in the intensity of performances. Regarding the latter, one thing that did get a bit exhausting after a while was the "shouty-ness" of everyone - I would have liked to see more variation and nuance in delivery of lines, rather than just 100% angry all the time (sometimes an unnervingly calm delivery can say anger better than screaming your lungs out). There were bits and pieces in the film that existed as interesting ideas in their own right, but seemed a bit detached narratively from the rest of the film, like the oddly lingering extreme close-up of the guy's bloodied face as he slowly expired on the floor, or the woman watching from a security camera in another room. On a technical level, some of the shots looked quite nice (though I would have liked a bit of visual variety). Sound-wise, I think there was also music playing quietly in the background throughout, and it seemed like a missed opportunity to have some section of the film with no music at all, for contrast (specifically, the part where the woman leaves the room). So overall a bit confusing, but there were some interesting ideas at play, and clear commitment from everyone involved.

A couple of missing pieces in the story made this hard to follow but it was well shot and the lighting was really good. I also thought your actors were all very commited to their rolls, nicely done.

Default Avatar canaryinthecoalmine

I didn't quite understand the story here, or how it worked into the genre, but maybe thats just me. The setting and the lighting were very impressive, and the actors all did a great job

Default Avatar MistaTeas

A surgeon has been kidnapped and faces justice for a botched procedure. Plenty of strong performances in this and some great lighting creates a sinister environment. However, the audio is a bit patchy at times and as others have mentioned it’s a bit rinse and repeat in terms of what’s happened. I too am unsure of the motivations of the captors outside of it being a job.

Awesome piece of cinema! The story dragged you in right at the beginning, and the dynamics between the two leads were believable. Awesome twist at the end too

A good looking film, but ultimately I was more lost than i was engaged.

Really great camera work and production design, but I found the story hard to follow at times and it maybe wasn't as compelling as it wanted to be. There's a really strong directorial voice, which is nice. I'd have loved to see the characters outside of the room, maybe with actual flashbacks to illustrate what they were talking about. TITLE REVIEW: I'm not sure your title perfectly illustrates what the film is really about.

First film of Heat 8. So many things to love in this film. The camera work and lighting were right on point and had a real presence and style that instantly set the tone. The acting was brilliant and their commitment to the script was fantastic. There were a bunch of really good lines in the script that were made great by fantastic delivery. The only major issue was the plot itself. It never quite seems to know the story its trying to tell. Never quite managing to explain which character is good and which is bad. And I was completely lost during the gun shot moment. Almost as if there was an extra scene left in the edit accidentally. I'll need to watch it again but seeing as it was the first film of the night and it had my full attention the fact that I couldn't work out what happened in the second half reflects on the edit/ script itself. Anyway soooo much potential here. Talented actors and cinematographers in this team and with a clearer plot driven story next year I could see a really amazing film coming from these guys in 2020.

As others have said the lack of explanation for the woman's motivations was a crippling logical issue but there was some promise here and committed performances. The use of wind was a bit awkward in the sense of just being there because it was a required element, you didn't manage to use it in a way that added anything. It's at about the 3.5 star level but I have to choose between 3 and 4.

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