Production value isn't great – the animation featured in the beginning and the end credits scene is particularly awful. The script (or at least the English subtitle translation) is shaky. The sound design is not well done. The overall product, however, feels like "Inland Empire" meets "The Shining" meets Donnie Darko." Apart from some pretty evident Kubrick references and an end credits scene reminiscent of Darko, the whole film feels very original. The director clearly had some surrealist vision of a film that would be a great watch, if only the finished product was a bit more organized and cleaned.
The first chapter, told in out of order segments (or at least I think it is), is very hard to follow, and is ultimately the worst of the three segments of the film. A woman empties her boss's bank account and runs away with the money. If only it were that simple. This chapter only introduces the idea of multiple parallel dimensions, and I think it tries to showcase the concept, but it is poorly executed.
The second chapter is by far the best (and the longest). The whole thing plays out like "The Shining:" hotel manager goes insane and starts killing (unfortunately, again, its not that simple). Things go meta when a film director wants to make a film called Maze, which parallels the events of the actual film, which is funny and bizarre at the same time.
The third chapter tries to wrap up the whole parallel universes idea but doesn't do much good (not enough to make me want to talk about it).
I really wish I could like this film; the idea is interesting, and the second chapter is really good, but the whole thing is too scattered in unpolished that it needs definite work before I can recommend it.
The first chapter, told in out of order segments (or at least I think it is), is very hard to follow, and is ultimately the worst of the three segments of the film. A woman empties her boss's bank account and runs away with the money. If only it were that simple. This chapter only introduces the idea of multiple parallel dimensions, and I think it tries to showcase the concept, but it is poorly executed.
The second chapter is by far the best (and the longest). The whole thing plays out like "The Shining:" hotel manager goes insane and starts killing (unfortunately, again, its not that simple). Things go meta when a film director wants to make a film called Maze, which parallels the events of the actual film, which is funny and bizarre at the same time.
The third chapter tries to wrap up the whole parallel universes idea but doesn't do much good (not enough to make me want to talk about it).
I really wish I could like this film; the idea is interesting, and the second chapter is really good, but the whole thing is too scattered in unpolished that it needs definite work before I can recommend it.
