Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Absurdistan (2008)

This delightful little (1 hour 28 minutes) fable from Germany and Azerbaijan was a Sundance nominee (warning, the link has spoilers, though the writer says there aren't, and he calls our heroes Ava and Hemelko, but their names are Aya and Temelko). I don't think it's giving anything away to say that many people fall but no one gets hurt and there are guns but no people are shot. It's a battle between the sexes set in a tiny, desolate town that is running out of water. There is some nudity, nearly all the characters are obsessed with sex, and there are subtitles (it's in Russian), so leave the kiddies at home. Most of the dialogue is in voiceover, which freed up Writer/Producer/Director Veit Helmer to cast actors of various nationalities and skill sets to portray the slapstick roles with body language. Japanese composer Shigeru Umebayashi, who has worked with Chinese directors Kar Wai Wong (2046 (2004), In the Mood for Love (2000)) and Yimou Zhang (Curse of the Golden Flower (2006), Jet Li's Fearless (2006), House of Flying Daggers (2004)) has moved a little ways west to score this and the soundtrack is good on its own (available at Amazon and iTunes).

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