The Follow

Visually this is a beautiful short. It has some amazing cinematography by Harris Savides who also made moody movies like "The Game", "Finding Forrester" and "Birth". The fine directing is from Kar Wai Wong, who makes this short a little piece of art.

The story is also what helps to make this movie beautiful. Although its short it still manages to create depth and stir up the right emotions. This is the second and so far last "The Hire" short written by expert Andrew Kevin Walker. If you only like and expecting a cool car chase than you're better of watching another "The Hire" short and you can just better skip this one.

The good mood music is from Joel Goodman and Jeff Rona.

Famous stars in this are Mickey Rourke and Forest Whitaker in an uncredited but big role.

The third "The Hire" movie is just simply beautiful!

9/10

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Hong Kong acclaimed director Wong Kar-wai ("In the Mood for Love", "Happy Together", "Fallen Angels", "Chungking Express") directed this short film about for German car manufacturer BMW (bmwfilms.com). Clive Owen plays a detective on an assignment to follow an actress. Instead of hard-selling the BMWs which we might expect Wong portrays the psyche of the detective in the form of monologue.

This short film is breathtakingly gorgeous (especially the first minute or so). Wong chose to mute the sound of the car and superimpose Silvio Rodriguez's Unicornio, which I think is beautifully done.

WKW has done it again. Definitely check it out if you like to look at beautiful things.

I agree that The Follow is the finest film in " The Hire " series of BMW short films. With it, director Wong Kar-Wai gives us a unique take on the series. The photography, and music blend perfectly to make the film itself very simple, elegant, and more poignant then you would ever expect a " promotional film " to be.

The performances are genuine and unhurried, which aside from Clive Owen as The Driver, include the talents of Mickey Roarke and Forrest Whitaker. This really does leave you wishing it was a full length feature.

Something I have noticed in all of the BMW films is the attention paid to atmospheric sound, the effects are always excellant. I highly recommend viewing all the films in The Hire series, but particularly The Follow.

While John Frankenheimer and Ang Lee made films whose primary purpose is to show off the new line of BMW cars, Wong Kar Wai's FOLLOW is the first to actually try to make a genuine piece of art where the cars plays a secondary purpose. A driver (Clive Owen) is hired to keep surveillance on a movie star's wife, and begins to find himself emotionally involved.

OK, the plot is standard film noir material, but it is Wong Kar-Wai's elliptical visual style juxtaposed with melancholy music that creates an unforgettable mood piece that rejuvenates noir cliches. A perfect example is when Clive Owen looks into the wife's face and suddenly realize why she's attempting to leave her husband. It's just a simple understated shot that would be absolutely beautiful until you realize what the camera is focusing on.

This is a short film that a viewer would wish to be a full-length feature to stay in the sad stylish world that it has created. Now how many car commercials can claim that?

This episode of the series is the most 'filmish' of all. What I mean is that the action concentrates not around the driving itself, but about the plot, the idea - and driving is only entwined with the action, but doesn't guide it.

The driving during all the episode resembles a dance - they two are moving tenderly, closely, yet intently. Storytelling is non-linear, but this dance runs through all the episode. At the same time the details, which are highlighted now and then, make all the plot somehow intimate. And the music matches the mood appallingly.

If other episodes could be associated with a comedy, a thriller or an action movie, this one is sure to be a melodrama: it's very romantic.

Well, you'd better see it - I doubt you'll regret you did.