Going into Phantom I didn't realise it was a 'bedroom movie,' one most likely shot in the director/writer's house and probably guerrilla style in its exterior sequences. I decided to stick with it because it has similar ambitions to myself in how to make a simple low budget film so meaningful. Even though it's an amateur production, there's definitely potential talent behind the camera. Great Canon footage and eerie undercurrents of its score overcome poor sound quality and the interesting existential stream-of-thought ideas overcome weak storytelling. In fact, its minimalist images should be a prime example on what to do with low resources, though perhaps the film could've benefited from being a series of stills as the editing and movement in the frame feels too rough. It's a film all in the dialogue. A night of insightful conversations similar to Hiroshima Mon Amour or Before Midnight. It has the danger of being pretentious, but it comes from a well-intentioned and introspective place. It's full of very relatable mid-20s quarter-life-crisis anxieties where life hasn't really started or just begun.
In the conversation, it studies universal themes of identity and depersonalisation then places that perspective on others around us. It's concerned with social status, limitations, meaning of our lives and the consequence of our actions - an idea the title comes from, where a Phantom has no consequence. But is this study of cynical ideas darkly melancholic or merely bittersweet? It does suggest that bonding with another is the solution to life and while I certainly agree, it's a tough answer to chew on if it's not an option. However, as the film is about feeling disconnected, every relatable point it has where you feel connected to it is a wonderful feeling. It's arguable that the film is in fact a documentary with its Sans Soleil travelogue style without the travelling as there's only shards of fiction here and there. That's another slight issue with the film, while the conversation is strong and flows fluently enough, the images are often either cryptic or preachy. At least they're always thoughtful. It's certainly an interesting way to look at the world like Phantom. One of the better near-zero budget films I've seen.
7/10
In the conversation, it studies universal themes of identity and depersonalisation then places that perspective on others around us. It's concerned with social status, limitations, meaning of our lives and the consequence of our actions - an idea the title comes from, where a Phantom has no consequence. But is this study of cynical ideas darkly melancholic or merely bittersweet? It does suggest that bonding with another is the solution to life and while I certainly agree, it's a tough answer to chew on if it's not an option. However, as the film is about feeling disconnected, every relatable point it has where you feel connected to it is a wonderful feeling. It's arguable that the film is in fact a documentary with its Sans Soleil travelogue style without the travelling as there's only shards of fiction here and there. That's another slight issue with the film, while the conversation is strong and flows fluently enough, the images are often either cryptic or preachy. At least they're always thoughtful. It's certainly an interesting way to look at the world like Phantom. One of the better near-zero budget films I've seen.
7/10