Last Seen At Angkor (2005/Drama)
Picture:
C Sound: C Extras: C- Film: C-
Michael
R. Morris’ Last Seen At Angkor (2005)
has an intriguing concept for a thriller drama, where a U.S. tourist (Morris)
goes to Cambodia with his fiancée, only to have her go missing. He has a detective (Hong Thomas) help him
out, but that is not enough and he gets involved in prostitution by essentially
going undercover, then things get worse.
That is
true for the character, but unfortunately, also true for the script which
slowly implodes, never makes Cambodia a character, never deals with the past of
genocide that has converted the country into what it is for better & worse
and gets too caught up in its plotting.
Too bad, because this had so much potential and the location shoot is a
plus, but this gets too lost for its own good all the way to a strange repeat
of the end of The Man Who Fell To Earth.
The letterboxed
1.78 X 1 image is nicely shot by Director of Photography Xiao Wu, but the
limits of the digital video help contribute to this disc just being too soft
throughout. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound
is barely stereo and often less than that from the all-location shoot. The combination can be trying. Extras include outtakes/deleted scenes, three
trailers and a student film by Morris called The Mid-Day Two-Way Cacophony Crisis.
- Nicholas Sheffo
