Quickcard Review - 46th Chicago International Film Festival
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Asleep in the Sun
Directed by: Alejandro Chomski Cast: Luis Machin, Esther Goris, Carlos Belloco Running Time: 1 hr 20 mins Rating: NR Release Date: TBD
PLOT: Lucio is forced to commit his depressed wife when she becomes too much. Much to his surprise, she returns soon after, seemingly completely healed. But something seems different to Lucio and he'll go to any lengths to find out what happened to his wife.
WHO'S IT FOR? Fans of surrealist stuff may get a kick out of Asleep in the Sun. Otherwise, I'd say it's probably just for hardcore fans of director Chomski's other work.
OVERALL
At its heart, Asleep in the Sun tries too hard to be a surrealist's nightmare. It's a noble premise which has been done before and, in the case of Asleep in the Sun, it's been done better. After an oddly engaging title sequence, the movie starts off with giving too much away. There's a generally followed rule in film review called the 20 minute rule. It pretty much states that if it happens within the first 20 minutes of a movie, it doesn't need a spoiler warning. In the case of Asleep in the Sun it would be more appropriate to call it the 20 second rule. I legitimately can't even say what the first scene is because then pretty much everyone would know the "twist" of the movie, if it's even fair to call it that.
But sadly, the problems don't stop there. The main issue with the film is its lack of a definitive style. It's certainly visually engaging, but even that is thrown off by the airy piano accompaniment in otherwise fairly tense scenes. This continues to distract as the movie goes on. Then again, the music was kind of uplifting in an otherwise emotionally flat movie. It's not for lack of trying, because the movie does go through some of the obligatory twists and turns to keep the audience engaged, but even before its 80 minute running time came to an end, I found myself wanting to pause the movie and go grab something to eat or really anything to take a break from this movie watching experience.
Even more disheartening is that the only feeling I got from Asleep in the Sun was the feeling of deja vu. Seriously, it felt like a greatest hits compilation of The Stepford Wives, Eternal Sunshine, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and more all rolled into one. needless to say, it left me wishing I'd watched all of those instead of this knock off.
Asleep in the Sun is, at best, an homage to films past and at its worst, an insincere directorial effort. After reading what the film was about, I wanted to like the film so much more than I did, but walking away after spending a mere 80 minutes on this project, I found myself disappointed. If I were to recommend this movie to anyone, I'd recommend walking in about five minutes late so as to at least be able to enjoy the mystery, but even then, I can't think of anyone I'd want to put through a viewing of Asleep in the Sun.
FINAL SCORE: 4/10