Yu qiang fell asleep, but i think this was one of the better independent films out of the US that I’ve seen recently, though then again, haven’t watched that many honest to god real indies from the US recently. This movie was obviously low-budget, and many of the gags come out of this — how he plays himself at a younger age with no makeup, how they tell us that they couldn’t afford to shoot in Paris so are just shooting in San Francisco instead. Zahedi writes, directs and stars, and there’s something very Woody Allen-esque about this exercise, though having just seen Allen’s “Scoop” I hesitate on pushing that analogy too far. This is because there is something a bit more honest and at least to I, who have not seen Zahedi’s other works, less formulaic than Allen is. I thought that while this movie was kind of stream of consciousness that the timing and rhythm was decent. There was a point when it started to get bogged down, but I think in retrospect that this was necessary exposition and also that this structure was more true to his experience or the experience of his character, and am glad that it managed to preserve its integrity rather than caving into mine and other people’s Hollywood influences expectations of style, narration, themes, etc. There is a voice in this film, which is something some instrinsic and so basic sounding that i really wish we didn’t have to be like this, we didn’t have to gaga whenever we stumble across something or someone remotely resembling an auteur or individual voice in the American cinema.

however, that’s just the way that things are nowadays.

It’s a good film. I recommend it, to those 2 people that are reading this.
[tags]movies, films, I am a sex addict, caveh zahedi, independent, indie, relationships, addictions, sex, sexuality, prostitution, prostitute, acting, auteurs, filmmakers, director[/tags]