I was confused, mystified, angered, spellbound, and at times awed with the artistry that went into creating this worldwide one-room puzzle. The art direction is through the roof. No literally, at one point it projects through the roof. And the acting! Goodness, wonderful! Thesbians love to invoke Tom Cruise's name to explain the difference between an actor and a movie star. In this role Tom tells them all to F-off. He's a freaking marvel! And Riz Ahmed as Ganesh - wow! Ahmed is given two or three mini speeches, one that blows the doors off the theater. His character, after being quieted repeatedly, finally lets loose with the film's most important message, the camera pushes in slowly, his passion bursts into the ether! Wow!

There's a lot of yelling, a lot of dark odd humor, a lot of icky feeling, so it's not for everyone. But the theme is a good one, and the telling of the story is rather fascinating. You'll just have to trust and stick with it. Yes, it's a bit imperfect, but it's so cool, so visual, so engaging, and so bold/brave/risk-embracing, I'm going with an "A" here. It made me think of the amazing power and momentum and acting showcase of Birdman (also directed by Alejandro Gonzalez).

When I left the theater, I walked out into real life and thanked the heavens that we have somehow managed to preserve some of the natural beauty of this planet and have not yet destroyed it with our petty greed, and silly manmade distractions.

-- Click here to see Books by Ross Anthony, Author --