A fun-filled weekend trip with three friends is interrupted by an unexpected turn of events. These lead E'moni, the female member of the trio, to discover the truth of who her friends really are when they have to face the challenge of being altruistic or individualistic, to preserve their self-interests. Somewhere away from 'civilization', on an arid and distant road in the desert of California.
A straight story for a straight film. Of course we can always try to discover metaphors and highlight ideas, for whatever reasons, and say that they are surreptitiously inscribed in the film. But does it really matter? As a student project, it seems that Indian filmmaker Ashok Gazula did not want more. It's just the fun of telling a story; about the 'circle of life', as he says, with irreproachable filming skills. This does not mean that it is an experimental work. On the contrary, this is a movie to take seriously. The fact that it is only a student project, as the director states; everything in it respects what is expected from a cinematographic work.
At this level, the production and mixing of sound, in which Ashok is a specialist, is frankly admirable, as well as the frantic way he positions the cameras, as if he wanted to show the action under all every possible point of views of the protagonists, simultaneously, which requires excellent planning skills and technical control on the set.
We should not hide, however, that Ashok's aesthetic sense may be arguable, or that some overacting in few moments may disturb the audience's commitment to the film. Still, the final result is remarkable and makes us foresee the future path of this young filmmaker that certainly will be interesting to follow.
Victor Eustaquio/Cult Critic/CICFF
A straight story for a straight film. Of course we can always try to discover metaphors and highlight ideas, for whatever reasons, and say that they are surreptitiously inscribed in the film. But does it really matter? As a student project, it seems that Indian filmmaker Ashok Gazula did not want more. It's just the fun of telling a story; about the 'circle of life', as he says, with irreproachable filming skills. This does not mean that it is an experimental work. On the contrary, this is a movie to take seriously. The fact that it is only a student project, as the director states; everything in it respects what is expected from a cinematographic work.
At this level, the production and mixing of sound, in which Ashok is a specialist, is frankly admirable, as well as the frantic way he positions the cameras, as if he wanted to show the action under all every possible point of views of the protagonists, simultaneously, which requires excellent planning skills and technical control on the set.
We should not hide, however, that Ashok's aesthetic sense may be arguable, or that some overacting in few moments may disturb the audience's commitment to the film. Still, the final result is remarkable and makes us foresee the future path of this young filmmaker that certainly will be interesting to follow.
Victor Eustaquio/Cult Critic/CICFF