Anhedonia

Upon hearing of his mentor's impending death, haggard musician Kino Warren begins a journey on foot across country, and through a place not of this world referred to as "the territory". Kino believes wholeheartedly that the mentor cannot die until he arrives. On his journey, Kino is unaware several people are on his tail - varyingly malicious and politically involved - in search of the only-known recording of the greatest piece of music ever made, a piece supposedly capable of taking away all pain within the listener - created by his mentor, and in his possession, completely unbeknownst to him.

This is a film that raises a lot of questions and only occasionally gives you answers. For most people that might be frustrating, but I prefer that in a film. Inception, Shutter Island, Primer, 2001, Mother!, Lost Highway - they all leave you wanting more, and that's exactly what I felt at the end of this beautiful microbudget film. I feel like originiality is lacking from the cinema these days. Everything seems to be remake, sequel or franchise, so it's refreshing to find films like this. The acting on show here, especially from Liam Blundell (Kino Warren) and Ross Leyshon (The Philistine) is full of range and intensity. Usually the first thing that suffers on lower budget films is performances, but that's really not the case here. If anything it's what gives the bizarre events throughout such emotional weight. It's really well shot by Andrew Toovey, the music by Sebastian Moody took my breath away, and the ideas in the script are out of this world! I feel like it could've been maybe five minutes or so shorter in a couple of places, but that's minor criticism for a film this rich and profound. The ending moved me greatly and I look forward to watching it again soon. Highly recommend!