Broken (2005)
What Is Broken?
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
Buy Broken on DVD.
This "pocket thriller" by Alex Ferrari reveals a talent not quite yet
developed but willing; his visual sense is way ahead of his storytelling
skills. The story involves a mysterious kidnapping, in which a girl is
snatched from her kitchen by a band of exotic villains. In a darkened
warehouse, our lead villain preens and taunts and plays a harmonica,
tormenting his prey until a masked hero turns up and saves her. The hero
unmasks himself at one point with a great flourish, and I got the
impression that I was supposed to know who he was. Of course, a big
shootout follows, as well as a "surprise" ending that's not very
surprising. The actors are good enough to overcome some of the stale
dialogue, and Ferrari keeps things alive with his inventive framing,
though he's a bit too eager during the faster sequences, and he opts for
jumble instead of clarity. The opening and closing title sequences, too,
are headache inducing; they use all the tricks on Apple's Final Cut Pro,
causing the picture to twitch, jump and wriggle like a TV station with
bad reception.
DVD Details: The DVD, for sale at www.whatisbroken.com, comes
a bunch of special features, and many helpful tips for aspiring filmmakers.
Starring: Samantha Jane Polay, Paul Gordon, Amber Crawford, Derek Evans, Tony Gomez, Jose Luis Navas, Danilo Begovic, Stephan Morris, Ruben Gomez, Ken Robkin, Eric Townsend
Written by: Jorge F. Rodriguez, based on a story by Alex Ferrari
Directed by: Alex Ferrari
MPAA Rating: NR
Running Time: 20 minutes
Date: July 24, 2005
