Buster's Mal Heart

I'm keeping with the on the run theme, having just watched The 39 Steps. Buster (Rami Malek) is no Robert Donut though and this is a much more involved film. We first meet Buster or Jonah as he was, looking like a wild hermit, the local cops inform us he's been on the run for 5 years, breaking into places for sustenance and evading capture. What plays out is essentially what's lead Buster to this place, but it's not a smooth ride. He works hard. Works the night shift. Has a young family, goes to Church. There's niggles though. His wife's parents that they live with don't approve of him. He's a free thinker, motivated, ambitious, there's a lot of energy in him and Malek taps into it well. I've often thought about how hard working nights must be. For Jonah here, well it's the catalyst for his break with society and reality. Working in the hotel as concierge when there's little to do but tidy up, he's on the edge of sleep deprivation with his mind time to wander. An encounter with The Last Free Man (DJ Qualls) brings some excitement. Qualls does paranoid crazy well. He's a torrent of conspiracy theories, Y2K, CIA Hitlists, the Inversion. This becomes Buster's new centre, The Inversion, his obsession, the idea of an impending event, one that will deliver him and others that he tries to warn by ranting on local talk radio. Taking refuge in vacant summer homes, his life on the lam is not unpleasant. Hot baths, some personal hygiene care, mixed with what I'm sure he'd denote as warnings of The Inversion, turning family photos upside down. It's all a bit like The Shining without the focus. This isn't a great film, but Jonah's desire to live his life free, away from the system of renting a home, working for the man, that's interesting and his struggle to make that work for his family, well there's real substance. There's a lot going on in Jonah's head and we only really see things from his perspective, meaning things can get a little fuzzy as he becomes more and more disconnected. It's intentional though, allowing the viewer to decide what's real, what's psychosis, what's important, what's the minds way of coping with horrible events. It would be better if it left some things left unsaid, but instead it feels the need to explain and simplify. This is a bit frustrating, but with so many possible interpretations, I guess Sarah Adina Smith who wrote and directed this wanted to throw us a bone. It's a twister, it's good, a little confusing, not overly satisfying, somewhat maddening, but highly engaging and the sort of film I could watch a few times, digging further into various theories. At the same time, it can be interpreted as being quite simple. The story of a bloke losing it, breaking down and healing to perhaps only relive the cycle over and over. It's not for everyone.

This film is more than just a film. It is an experience, and it has you from start to finish in its seemingly quiet way. Then it comes to you in your dreams too, in your conversations about it, and your will for others to see it too. The characters, the world, the scenarios, all bring to light a new perspective. I loved the storytelling and it's fresh, funny, and dramatic.

I often find that I am not so moved by newer films, that they aren't succeeding in providing me with new insight or actual cinema or unique stories. I have no issue with walking out and never needing to look back. This is a movie I want to see again. And I will find new revelations there.

I wish many more films would aspire to this, which succeeds in what it does.

I only have a vague idea of what I just watched, but whatever it was was extremely well done. Sarah Adina Smith definitely has a brain 4 times the size of mine.

After a first watch, it's difficult to characterise or rate this movie. Certainly intriguing and engaging, the viewing experience is mind-bending. The atmosphere is a weird mix of claustrophobia, psychedelia and human drama. The movie explores ideas around sanity, reality, imprisonment and the quest for freedom. It comes over as sensitive and real on a human level, alternately touching, tragic, funny, sad, depressing, chilling, and strangely inspiring. The main character gives a brilliant portrayal of an altered state of consciousness. The meaning and story of the movie are expressed in a very unconventional way; non-linear, disorientating and confusing - which I'm sure was intentional. The experience is rather psychedelic, and there isn't quite enough logical substance to really carry the viewer to a satisfactory conclusion, but this might change with a rewatch, when the rating might go up.

'BUSTER'S MAL HEART': Four Stars (Out of Five)

An indie mystery about a mentally unstable mountain man, and former family man, who now survives by breaking into empty vacation homes, while he constantly warns others (on talk radio) about an upcoming 'Inversion' at the change of the millennium. It was written and directed by Sarah Adina Smith, and it stars Rami Malek (in his first starring film role), Toby Huss, Kate Lyn Sheil and DJ Qualls. The movie had it's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, and it's received mostly positive reviews from critics. I found it to be bizarrely interesting, and for the most part pretty well made, but it also left things just a little too unexplained for my tastes.

The film opens with a mountain man, Buster (Malek), desperately trying to escape the authorities that are chasing him. He makes it to the top of a mountain, where the film then flashes back to his past as a family man, with a wife (Sheil) and daughter (Sukha Belle Potter). He also recollects on his time breaking into empty vacation homes, and calling into radio shows ranting about an upcoming 'Inversion' (at the turn of the millennium). Buster also has multiple visions of being lost at sea. As a viewer we have to interpret what's real, what isn't, and when and where it's all taking place.

The film is definitely bizarre and interesting, and I was always curious of where it was leading to. I think the acting is good in the film (especially Malek in the lead) and Smith is obviously a very talented filmmaker. I was just hoping for a little more from the conclusion. I don't need everything explained to me in a film, but I don't like everything to be left a question mark either. I'm sure some viewers will think they understand it, but I think most of the film is entirely left up to individual interpretation. If you like that type of movie you'll probably love it, I'm not a huge fan of the genre though.

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