BEFORE: I didn't eat anything for almost 24 hours, except for a few crackers and some ginger ale - I've found that's the easiest and fastest way to clear out my system and feel better. Then I was starving at dinner time, so we went out for Chinese Buffet - so I'm going into this one with a full belly...
THE PLOT: A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family.
AFTER: Looks like I'm not the only one with a full stomach, of course I'm not carrying drug pellets from Colombia to New Jersey.
This was another film that was tough to watch, but for entirely different reasons. It was difficult to watch someone forcing down 50 or 60 drug-filled condoms and then nervously traveling to the U.S. I know it's a complicated issue, and I know there are parts of the world where this sort of thing takes place - I'm just not sure that it makes for an entertaining film.
I'm starting to think that films developed at the Sundance Institute, and regarded as "festival darlings" don't always translate to entertaining films to watch at home - which is tough for me to say, since I've enjoyed going to the Sundance Festival in the past, and I work with a lot of film festival people. I've found films at Sundance to be very entertaining - "Memento", "Donnie Darko", and "The Butterfly Effect" stand out as some of my favorites. So what is it about being in the festival atmosphere that seems to make these films more watchable? Or am I making too general of an assumption?
I guess I should just judge each individual film on its own merits. This one was dark, depressing, and left the main character in an unresolved situation. There, I said it.
One more drug-related film, and then I'll happily be moving on to another subject. I don't really feel connected to this topic, being drug-free since 1988, unless you count beer, screwdrivers and the occasional Sudafed.
RATING: 4 out of 10 passports
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