Asylum Seekers

AMAZING ESCAPISM!!! Wish I could escape our "mad" contemporary world through "ASSYLUM SEEKERS" EXIT door!!! Loved the revolutionary Red Digit Cinema Camera! Incredible Inventive Cinematography!!!! Saw the preview in London and I can't wait for the general release in the U.K. Perceived insanity is like beauty in the eye of the beholder! Not all of us would reach a consensus what beauty is & certainly will agree who is sane or insane! Rania Ajami in my view reached the same conclusion! Her inmates evoke certain universal truths! A job well done!! The choice of actors was superb which proved the greatness of the director1 It was a remarkable black comedy!

So many movies are the same and this one isn't, mixing wry humor, visual painting that combines an unpredictable story (refreshing, that) with some bizarre circumstances. See it, experience it, this is the stuff that scifi fantasy fans just wait and wait for, something new and unusual.

Adults need fantasy with wit and the bigger than life characters in the film are fraught with humor and totally twisted! Notable performances form the principles, hilarious and just so wrong, I bet Carlos Castaneda & Lewis Carroll would love this film.

I look forward to more of Ajami's directing!

This is the kind of indie film we don't see much of anymore. Great story, stunning visuals, and completely out there (it's right up there with the classics, Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Velvet Goldmine). The acting is great, the characters are alive on screen, all of them funny, anguished, paranoid, and lovable. The costumes, the locations, all of the visuals are eye popping and bizarre as we are taken through the worlds and minds of these unique characters. The story alone sets the tone for this creative and wacky comedy, 6 self proclaimed crazies all fighting for the last spot in an elite insane asylum, you can be sure you're in for a wild ride!

This movie is great! Fantastic cinematic shots, colors, sets and great actors.Its subject is genius. Characters seeking an asylum? The way I feel sometimes in this society made me question: why not seek an asylum? It takes you on a bizarre journey that feels like your trapped in a brain of another sort of character. The Music adds to the story of each character wonderfully as well. I could identify with so many moments. Especially Dr. Raby's. I don't want to spoil anything by saying too much but Daniel Irizarry's work in this film just carries you with him in the sentiments. I look forward to seeing more from the Director, Rania Ajami.

In reference to some of the previous reviews, yes "Asylum Seekers" dares to be surreal. Whether this is a compliment or an epithet is entirely according to individual taste, I suppose. I think that the film is quite smart and very humorous, although at times the joke takes a while to sink in. This, to my mind, is a good thing. Themes of acting, self-presentation, fragmentation, and "mental health" in modern life are presented quite well in this film. True, quite often "Asylum Seekers" dispenses with easy plot devices, but this seems to be rooted in an expectation that the audience will actually engage a bit with the underlying themes rather than passively wait to be jolted into cheap laughter or "understanding".

Interestingly, the film reminds me a lot of Raymond Roussel's novels; Roussel was funny too, but only if you were open to his strange sense of the world.

For those interested in the formal qualities of a film, I can say that "Asylum Seekers" looks great. True, it is not "realistic", but it is clear that the director and crew got the most out of what was probably a fairly low budget.

So, for lazy viewers, this is not a good film at all. If you actually take X-Factor or "the media" (any media...Fox, MSNBC, BBC...does not matter, really) or your therapist seriously, by all means stay away! If this is the level of your engagement, this film is not only not for you...you are actually the film's target. For those who can appreciate a more complex world than this, however, I can highly recommend "Asylum Seekers".