What can I say, nobody's perfect. Mat Dillon's first attempt at directing a film is the City of Ghosts, a movie about Jimmy, a con man who's out to get his hefty share of an insurance scam in Cambodia, unaware of the dangers he is about to face.
Dillon doesn't fail to capture the beauty and culture of Cambodia, the film making is masterful. But the film is hard to follow, and that's not because the story is confusing, it's because Dillon is. City of Ghosts is like a giant puzzle that fell off the table and the pieces scattered everywhere. In fact, I even recall parts of the film that ended up having absolutely nothing to do with it later on.
If you're apologetic and have are able to pay good enough attention to the film you can see what Dillon was attempting to piece together here. The end result could have been wonderful if more effort was put into the development of the story and characters. Instead I got chunks and pieces of what was needed.
Altogether a great idea for a film, but the amateur couldn't quite finish the puzzle. Most people will have trouble respecting this film for what it is, or rather, what it could have been. 6/10
Dillon doesn't fail to capture the beauty and culture of Cambodia, the film making is masterful. But the film is hard to follow, and that's not because the story is confusing, it's because Dillon is. City of Ghosts is like a giant puzzle that fell off the table and the pieces scattered everywhere. In fact, I even recall parts of the film that ended up having absolutely nothing to do with it later on.
If you're apologetic and have are able to pay good enough attention to the film you can see what Dillon was attempting to piece together here. The end result could have been wonderful if more effort was put into the development of the story and characters. Instead I got chunks and pieces of what was needed.
Altogether a great idea for a film, but the amateur couldn't quite finish the puzzle. Most people will have trouble respecting this film for what it is, or rather, what it could have been. 6/10