South of Hope Street

South of Hope Street is a riveting film written, directed and produced by Jane Spencer.

I was immediately drawn into the other-worldly action of a chaotic, absurd, soulless universe. The foreboding tone was balanced by the film's artistry; particularly, in the character of Tom and through the mysterious, captivating two moons of the enlightened universe.

Spencer's direction evokes tones of Fellini and brushes of brilliant auteurs. The panoramic scenes were spirit-lifting. Her concise dialogue flows from the vernacular to the poetic, seamlessly. Excellent music choices and impressive special effects successfully merge all the elements of an ambitious vision.

William Baldwin, Judd Nelson and Michael Madsen are part of the talented cast led by Tanna Frederick. Her performance as a jobless, homeless Denise navigating a dystopian world, in search of normalcy, reminded me of Homer's Odysseus. As she looks to the sky and sees two moons, she questions everyone she knows and meets, desperate for answers. Baldwin delivers as Lt. Winthrop, a diabolical head of the man-made universe's military. Judd Nelson counters with a heartfelt portrayal of Tom, a janitor-poet.

Aside from enjoying some of the Star Wars movies, I am not a fan of the sci-fi genre. South of Hope Street didn't feel like science fiction to me. It felt like a cautionary tale. The timeliness of its message both frightening and hopeful.

I wish everyone would see this beautiful, poignant film.

It's refreshing to finally watch a sci fi film that harkens back to films such as Jean Luc Godard's Alphaville or Terry Gilliam's Brazil with an updated spin on it. Director Jane Spencer (Little Noises) has created a cryptic cinema of ethereal mystery where characters attempt to unlock the meaning of their own existential dilemmas. It avoids pretentious monologues but instead focuses on the inter relationships between multiple characters attempting to make the most of the catastrophes looming around them, where the only solution appears to be in fostering a new form of collective resistance of non violence. In many ways this film parallels the ideas of Ibsen's An Enemy of the People. Nobody will believe the main character who consistently brings up to a passive and conformist public that there are 2 moons in the sky. How does this affect their psyches - what are they going to do about it - and why is the government so keen to cover it up? This phenomenon drives home a deeper metaphor about the meaning of how humanity neglects what is most important until it's too late. This is not a movie that follows a plot line with predictable choices made by its characters but instead allows the audience to reflect on the big ideas presented. The cast is exceptional and is fully invested in this bleak world where poetry is dying to be reborn.

I grade message movies by their message and how they deliver it. Some message movies are huge blockbusters - like Don't Look Up. Other message movies are just really good message movies - like. Leave the World Behind (both are Netflix movies) which is a really good realistic end of America as we know it kind of movie. As far as message movies go, this one I'm reviewing is good. It isn't a blockbuster. It isn't a really good one. It's good. It is a message, meant to feel Detached From Reality, it is presented as if detached from the audience, and we remain detached from the movie and from the story. It isn't about the story. It isn't about A Movie. It is about the message,m and they don't waste time - nearly everything in every scene is a message. Look, listen, watch. It's not meant to be an exciting story. THAT Is how they got some of the bigger names on the project. It's about the MESSAGE. Stop ignoring everything and stop thnking it's only worth paying attention to if it wins awards.

Jane Spencer has done the near-impossible - created a brilliant, dystopian film that is incredibly original yet shows its influences on Godard, Kubrick, Bergman and Tarkovsky.

Lead actor, Tanna Frederick (Denise), is all tics, insanity and a contradictory combo of morose and giddy, but she's the perfect guide throughout the film. And it's great fun to see how she uses the underappreciated Judd Nelson, who is unrecognizable from his Brat Pack days, William Baldwin, who shines as he did in "The Usual Suspects," and Spencer regular, Michael Madsen who shows part of his actual, real-life persona of poet, combined with his cinema persona of madman.

Ms. Spencer gets a real budget, spent wisely on interesting special effects and a fantastic soundtrack which includes Donovan, Yello, Bob Dylan and Thunderclap Newman. They show up in unexpected but perfectly synced places and help the narrative flow.

"South of Hope Street" will no doubt delight European audiences who are much, more patient and attuned to films that are challenging and don't hit you over the head with their moral message or lack of one. It has all the earmarks, of what could be the next, big midnight fare, reaching an appreciative American audience as a potential, cult favorite. It should put her on the shortlist of Indie Film Darling Most Likely to Break Out to a much wider audience.

I personally liked the movie but I can not recommend it due to its major flaws. This movie tried to be a Kafka dialog + Tarovsky type of universe + Equilibrium Movie plot all in one go. On paper it is clever but in practice it does not hold up to what it wants to deliver.

The movie is also too long. By minute 50 you already understand the principle but it keeps dragging on for another 50 minutes reiterating what the first part of the movie already defined.

The part that hurt this movie the most is the poor camera handling and sound design. They simply jumped too fast and didn't allow the other sensory stimulants of the viewer to take in the information at its maximum value.

The plot of the movie infers what is fundamentally wrong with society as a whole and it is presented through the lens of people that can't lie. The acting was decent in that remark and they even had a few big named actors in there, but I feel that they were not used for their full acting potential either.

This movie tried to be too ambitious and the production didn't have a good enough team and possibly time to bring it together as it should have truly been. For the casual viewer this will feel as a bad movie that is very jumbled, while for the intended audience this movie will feel mediocre due to it's shortcomings.