BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

SnoopyStyle Jimmy (Matt Dillon) sold property insurance but the company fails to pay after a hurricane. The police investigates. The offshore accounts have been liquidated. Jimmy claims to be a hired hand and the owner has disappeared. He goes to Thailand to talk to his contact Joseph Kaspar (Stellan Skarsgård). Their boss Marvin (James Caan) has disappeared with their cut. He is supposedly in Cambodia on the run from the Russians. He checks into a hotel run by Emile (Gérard Depardieu) but his passport is stolen. He comes to the rescue for Sophie (Natascha McElhone).The story is flat and has no tension. It goes from one place to another for no particular reason. Presumably he could have called Kaspar but then he wouldn't be in Thailand. The stock characters are pulled from Graham Greene novels. This is much more of a travelogue. The movie has no movement or flow. It's a lot of waiting around in the first half. I love the foreign locations but there isn't anything more. Matt Dillon probably bit off more than he could chew.

vincentlynch-moonoi First, to our reviewer popkiss66 from Chicago, just how seriously can we take your "review" when you mention that it was "filmed on location (why spend the extra cash!?) in like kathmandu or something". It was filmed on location in CAMBODIA, which isn't even close to Kathmandu...or something.Now, back to our film: This is not a great film, but it brought something to my mind. While I've ever been a fan, I'm realizing that Matt Dillon is a rather dependable actor, and has been now for a good many years. Although he's not top rank, he also hasn't been a one hit wonder. I may need to reassess his status in American cinema.I have spent several years in Thailand, first visiting often and then living there, as well as some time in Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, and Jakarta. I've never been to Cambodia, but the depiction of the criminal element in Southeast Asia rings true. And that really is the basis of the plot in this story. You have the Westerners (here exemplified by James Caan's character) who think they are smarter than the natives, but end up living a cesspool life. And you have the natives who think they're smarter than the Westerners, not even realizing they are living a cesspool life. There are no winners, only different types of losers. Rather pathetic actually. And it is real.This is not a perfect film, by any means. There are some loose ends as the story unfolds. Some situations that don't quite work. But overall, it's a pretty good story, albeit imperfect. Dillon wrote it, so I give some credit to him.Matt Dillon's acting is dependable (as I mentioned earlier). His characterization is believable. I've always disliked James Caan as an actor, but he is satisfactory here as the main Westerner-crook. Natascha McElhone as the love interest is also acceptable. Gérard Depardieu as a bar owner is interesting, but I fail to see the brilliance alluded to by some reviewers. Kem Sereyvuth does nicely as the Cambodian companion to Dillon's character. Perhaps the best acting is done by Stellan Skarsgård, here another crook.Will I want to watch this again? No. But it is a decent film, and Matt Dillon deserves some kudos for his project.

filmjan Don't know about the story and all. But having been to Combodia, all the crazyness makes a lot of sense! Great shots of the country and Dillon has got a really good feel for it. OK, the characters and parts of the story seem a bit far fetched. But knowing the country some of this stuff is not too far of! Great movie I thought! Some of the characters hanging around at that hotel are just like the people I saw back there. Also, quite a few amateur actors..which is really cool I admit though, If this film would take place in a country that I do not personally know I would probably not get much out of it. But in any way I think it is underrated lots.

timviper Matt Dillon's feature directorial debut left me disappointed. While the cinematography was good and the landscapes were interesting, I did not get the feeling that many of the actors were very connected to what they were doing. Matt Dillon did not show a very strong personal connection to James Caan (nor Caan to him)-a man he traveled halfway around the world to find, essentially to tell him that he no longer desired the life he was leading. Natascha McElhone's character seemed to fall for him very suddenly, and the whole relationship seemed as though it were added just to pass some time while plot unfolded, not as a very integral part of the plot. The only real interesting character in the film was the belligerent bartender, played by Gerard Depardieu.The movie becomes somewhat complex, but they give you few hints to sort out the facts as you go along, and you get the feeling that everyone is lying to everyone else, which simply gets annoying. I would have liked to see this drive Matt Dillon's character as crazy as it did me, but instead he keeps it pretty monotone throughout the entire film, never showing any extreme emotion despite the extreme situations he finds himself in. The result is a movie that you lose interest in before it reaches it's climax, so that when the truth is finally revealed, you no longer care.