I got the chance to see Nara at a local film festival and I was blown away with this movie. It's a dark little fantasy that is driven home by awesome visuals, engrossing story telling and an incredible cast. The story follows a young man named Blaine who lives in a twisted little world he has created for himself. He has very little contact with other people. He works in a small Chinese restaurant for leftovers and finds things in the garbage to fix up his home in an abandoned building. The story is engrossing watching this young man's life slowly unfold. He lives in a desperate situation but the audience feels it more than Blaine seems too. The movie follows his sad and pathetic life in almost a documentary style then the story takes a very dark twist that you could never truly be prepared for. He makes a friend with a woman that flips Blaine's world into a new direction and takes him into an even darker existence!! This film may not be for everyone but film maker Navin Ramaswaran handles the subject matter in a sensitive and poetic way that turns the dark subject matter into something more intriguing and mystifying and not exploiting the shock factor of the story! The cast is solid but is carried by newcomer Dylan MacDonald who brings real life into the character of Blaine, in the wrong actors hands this could have been a mess but MacDonald finds the honesty and innocence that makes this journey worth taking! I wouldn't even consider giving away the twist because its nothing I have ever seen before in a film and I've seen some pretty twisted movies!!
Review of Nara
