Ink

I must say I've rarely been torn about a movie that much. First off, for a low-budget indie production, this movie is great, no doubt. But how does it compare to the Hollywood productions with similar ideas?

The beginning is very strenuous to watch. It takes a long time before you will understand anything that's going on. This will not change until somewhere between the middle and the end, and thus frustrate many viewers.

The story itself is creative and refreshing, but very confusing, I guess you could call it an adult fairy tale. The movie raises questions about family values, moral obligations, self-esteem and shame, all of them well developed and executed.

The actors are mostly doing a good job, although some of the supporting actors' (one actress in particular) emotions are a bit too extreme to be believable, but this does not really disturb the illusion and is merely a minor inconvenience.

The effects are worth their money and quite impressive for a low-budget production.

What ultimately makes this movie worth watching, however, is the truly great ending. If you are patient enough to sit through the movie as a whole and pardon the few flaws in it, you will be rewarded with an emotional, surprising and heart-warming ending.

I regret that I watched a pirated download of this movie. It was fantastic, and it truly deserves my money. However, that said, I don't know how else I would have found out about this absolute gem of independent film-making if it wasn't for seeing it on a list of downloads and feeling curious. My ONLY quarrel with Ink is the quality of the visuals themselves. I understand the desire to create a dreamlike, otherworldly atmosphere; but blowing out all the whites and softening the image can only be tolerated for so long. In some ways it makes the movie look cheap, which couldn't be more misleading. I think it's best to go into Ink curious. I didn't really know what the film was about when I began watching it other than it dealt with the idea of parallel worlds (and I think one review equated it with The Matrix some how); but it was a pleasure to let the film unfold in front of me, never knowing exactly where it was going and letting all of the puzzle pieces eventually drop perfectly into place. Although sometimes the costuming leaves something to be desired, the actors wear them confidently and never let you feel like you're being swindled. That said, the acting was top notch. Especially from lead Chris Kelly. Keeping everything I just said in mind, I would like to reiterate that Ink is an INDIE. Those looking for a big-budget thrill-ride will be slightly disappointed. But it is a remarkable indie. It doesn't let it's budget get in the way of a great story, startlingly impressive special effects (car crash scene is top-notch), visionary directing, and chameleon acting. This IS indie film-making. And it's the furthest thing from that soft-spined 'mumblecore' that lovers of independent film have been forced to sleep through for the past decade. I can't wait to see what's next from Jamin Winans. In the meantime I'm going to track down a copy of Ink all legal-like to add to my collection. In fact, if you're reading this post and are interested in watching it, try to find it legally - only because it's worth the purchase and it lets investors see audiences appreciate intelligent independent film-making. It's well worth the purchase.

This movie is a gem. A very ambitious project for such a low budget, it has a large cast, many locations and very effective visual effects. More importantly, it has an interesting and inventive story line, memorable characters inhabited by capable performances and a great pace to the editing. It takes us on a surreal journey back and forth between our world, and that of the title character, Ink. Ink is a neophyte Incubus, part of a race of beings that bring us bad dreams and are invisible to humans. When a Storyteller (part of the race of people who bring us good dreams) encounters Ink trying take the last step to becoming a full-fledged Incubus by kidnapping a little girl, a great battle ensues. We are carried between realities, through time and along a great ride that I know I won't soon forget.

There are a few relevant twists that I wont mention here, which unfold effectively along the way. They never seem forced to me, but act as a slow realization. This is one of the things that was most impressive about the film: It was made by a confident and capable director who lets the story reveal itself as it should, trusting the audience to make the necessary connections. A rare trait among independent filmmakers who are either too obtuse and obscure in the delivery of their art, or who err on the other side, dumbing down their story to ensure the audience "gets it". Winans does neither and lets you feel a part of the process with his confidence in your abilities as the viewer. The ending is satisfying without being overplayed, and there was enough going on through out making me want to see it again to look for more.

It's not a perfect film, but my quibbles are as much my personal taste as anything else. And those critiques are too small to mention here.

Ink has proved to me what can be done on a low-budget and with limited resources when you have a great script and take the time to do it right. I don't know what the budget was, but I'm pretty sure it was ridiculously small for the type of production value Winans delivers. He wrings good performances from the unknown cast through out. And while none were quite Oscar-worthy to me, the large cast blends well together and a few performances are really good. More importantly, none are that red flag you almost always see in an indie film. You know the one. It reminds you that this is being made by a low budget cast and crew somewhere. The action sequences are very effective, interestingly shot and edited without looking like they are the focus of the film.

Ink looks, sounds and feel like what we all hope for when going to see an indie: a "real" movie.

Folks, you are going to be hearing about this one. I guarantee it.

John has worked hard to climb the corporate ladder from his humble origins but, unless something changes, his ambitions and grudges will destroy his relationship with his daughter Emma. At the same time, while the world sleeps at night, it is visited by Storytellers (who give people good dreams) and Incubi (who give people nightmares). When an interloper named Ink kidnaps Emma to hand her over to the Incubi, the Storytellers unite with a Pathfinder (who can influence what people do during their waking hours) to make things right.

I think I first saw this one with my brother around the time it was released. The fantasy world in its well-crafted story is very engaging. A few times the dialog felt a little off to me, but the characters are interesting and the actors do a good job of bringing them to life.

The description on the back of the DVD says its been compared to The Matrix, Brazil, and Dark City, which I sensed especially through the excellent camera work and cinematography. One scene in particular of the Pathfinder "stopping the flow" is very masterfully executed!

Ink follows the journey of eight year old Emma (Quinn Hunchar), who falls into a coma after she is kidnapped into a dreamworld by a mysterious monster, called Ink. In the real world Emma gets hospitalized after falling into a coma, but in the dreamworld she is being used by Ink as a pawn in a metaphysical war being fought between the forces of light and darkness.The forces of light are a group of people who give dreams to the living, known as storytellers, warriors, fighters, navigators and pathfinders. The forces of darkness, the Incubus, concurrently give nightmares to the living. Now Emma's only hope lies within her negligent father (Chris Kelly), a successful business man, as the forces of light cross over to the real world and try to alter his path to save Emma... What a crazy ride. Ink is unlike any other movie I know.Its definitely the most original movie I have ever seen and visually, it is quite stunning,the special effects really enhance the film.They're not state of the art GCI but they are tremendously effective.The soundtrack is wonderful and very suiting.The acting was good, specially Quinn Hunchar,this little girl is not only beautiful but she played her role with a maturity way beyond her age.The story its kind of a grown up fairy-tale and has an epic feeling to it,unfortunately it gets too confusing and complex at times,its one of those films you have to watch more then one time to fully comprehend everything that happened.My other complaint is the following: I think the movie is a bit all over the place.It has many great ideas and elements but it ends up being a bit messy.Having said that I'm amazed by what this director was able to accomplish with a low budget and probably not many resources.I see a LOT of great ideas here and I see a lot of potential.If Jamin Winans can do a film like this with this budget, I could only imagine what he would do with a Hollywood budget. In conclusion,Ink is a crazy and surreal journey that deserves to be seen.A very original and refreshing piece of work and the director is one to watch!

7/10