Saturday, August 25, 2007

The Bothersome Man

In the afterlife, everyone has a good job with a decent boss and any woman they want, and everyone is happy -- except for that one malcontent who wants things to be just as they were before, pain and ugliness included.

Andreas is this malcontent: a man wondering why food has no taste, liquor doesn't get him drunk, and everyone around him is shallow and emotionless. At first he thinks it's his fault, and he has made the wrong choices in the afterlife; then he finds that this is the way things are supposed to be, and he tries to find a way out. Andreas is not rebellious or spiteful or driven by revenge; he's just a quiet, friendly little cog being a quiet, friendly little pain in the ass.

A decent film that makes you question what it would take to keep you happy for eternity, and that makes damn sure you'll never throw yourself in front of a subway train.

* * * R A T I N G * * *
The Bothersome Man (IMDB)

Wince : [***__]
Flinch : [***__]
Retch : [**___]
Gape : [**___]

Beerequisite : [**___]
Pornability : [*____]
Obscurity : [*____]
Explicability : [***__]

Scene I'd watch on endless loop: Jumping in front of the subway train.

Memories I want to erase: The joyless sex with his wife(?).

What I would do different: There were a couple of brief scenes, such as the kitchen or the very end, that could have been extended by three or four minutes. These scenes can be understood as filmed, but they lack any weight, and give the impression that the director did not want to commit to what the scene depicted, or how the protagonist was affected. Also, for fun, I might have made the bus break down.

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