This film by John Putch has one outstanding thing: is done with a budget less than US$100,000! Unfortunately it looks like a very low production budget film with four intertwined stories that not all are really interesting or engaging and finally all looks like characters fragments of their lives and not much more.Based on the real phone booth in the Mojave Desert that sort of became an online cult until it was removed in 2000, tells about four characters that drive from Las Vegas to the booth to have conversations with a woman none knows in person called Greta.
The first story is about Beth (Annabeth Gish) that’s having relationship troubles and recurrent car robberies by breaking one of the windows. The second is about Mary (Tinarie Van Wyk-Loots) that finally leaves a boring job only to find the true occupation of Rachel an ex coworker. The third is about a lesbian couple with Alex (Christine Elise) being worry about her partner Glory (Joy Gohring)who believes aliens plague her and the last one about Richard (Robert Romanus)who is depressed because he and his wife are separated. Besides Greta’s voice in the phone booth, Richard is the character that seems to also join most of the stories.
Perhaps the only funny segment with a clear beginning and end is the story about Alex and Glory, but even if is a lesbian couple, there is nothing lesbian in the segment that deals more about the lengths Glory is willing to go to get rid of the aliens in her body.
The movie has many wins in lesser-known USA festivals like the Wine Country Film Festival where won the Best Independent Feature Under $100.000. But seems that is an acceptable movie to kill some time when you do not expect that much from the story and film, as holds your attention but doesn’t add up to anything memorable. Maybe on the positive side the movie tells mainly women stories that could have been interesting if each had more character and story development.
I had the feeling I was watching a regular cable movie that you will watch because there is nothing else to watch.
Enjoy.
Dear Storyteller,
ReplyDeleteAs with most reviews, it is all subjective. I've had people across the country at over 50 festivals thank us for making something thought provoking and subtle. I just want readers of your blog to realize that you are only one opinion. Some really nice reviews on www.mojavephonebooth.net. I guess the upside to your reaction is that you did not switch it off. Which I find myself doing with mostly anything that comes from Hollywood.
cheers.
MPB Collective, LLC
Dear MPB Collective,
ReplyDeleteAs you say I'm "only one opinion" and that's totally correct. I regret you do not approve my opinion, but as you can see if you browse the blog my taste for movies leans more to non-American films even when once in a while an American movie totally captivates me, like the fabulous The Visitor, to mention the latest one.
Thanks for leaving your official site link, so if any of the blog readers want to check other opinions they can do it rapidly without using Google and thanks for visiting the blog.
:)