Saw this at the Rotterdam film festival 2015 (IFFR). Interesting theme but the net result is disappointing. I understood the basic motives why Ben did quit his job, got rid of his stuff, and started wandering around as a vagabond. Leaving his job is shown rather early in the story, demonstrated via an interesting dialog with an H&R lady, who asks all the relevant questions but gets no definite answers.
Alas, after that, the story freezes for some reason. It takes more than half an hour running time to really move out of his former life and to hit the streets, and this is much too long. I dearly missed a discussion with his former girl friend, who certainly would have something to say about his decision. Moreover, he still stays with one leg in his former life, showing up on parties and the like. So there is no real cut-over, as far as we can see.
After a wasted (my opinion) half an hour of film, we see him show up here&there. Alas, he does not say much and leaves the talking to the people around him. I can think of at least of dozen missed opportunities to assess the choices he made, for example when talking to people he meets and who ask him about his past. Ample material for hefty discussions about the pro's and con's of his new way of life, but we don't take part in any of this. Instead, we see nice shots of Brooklyn, and meet several people in the process, acting believably, but our main protagonist is kept in the shadows. We even see his family briefly, who lost contact with him for some time. Alas again, the story leaves it at that.
All in all, a wasted opportunity to be enlightened about Ben's motives, and what he thinks and feels after his sudden lifestyle change. Aforementioned discussion with the H&R lady was a good start and I did expect more along this line. In conclusion: the story petered out and left us empty handed, wondering what it was all about. In line with my low admiration this film did not score very well either for the audience award: it ranked 151th (out of 160) with average score 2.981 (out of 5).
Alas, after that, the story freezes for some reason. It takes more than half an hour running time to really move out of his former life and to hit the streets, and this is much too long. I dearly missed a discussion with his former girl friend, who certainly would have something to say about his decision. Moreover, he still stays with one leg in his former life, showing up on parties and the like. So there is no real cut-over, as far as we can see.
After a wasted (my opinion) half an hour of film, we see him show up here&there. Alas, he does not say much and leaves the talking to the people around him. I can think of at least of dozen missed opportunities to assess the choices he made, for example when talking to people he meets and who ask him about his past. Ample material for hefty discussions about the pro's and con's of his new way of life, but we don't take part in any of this. Instead, we see nice shots of Brooklyn, and meet several people in the process, acting believably, but our main protagonist is kept in the shadows. We even see his family briefly, who lost contact with him for some time. Alas again, the story leaves it at that.
All in all, a wasted opportunity to be enlightened about Ben's motives, and what he thinks and feels after his sudden lifestyle change. Aforementioned discussion with the H&R lady was a good start and I did expect more along this line. In conclusion: the story petered out and left us empty handed, wondering what it was all about. In line with my low admiration this film did not score very well either for the audience award: it ranked 151th (out of 160) with average score 2.981 (out of 5).
