Ink (2009)

The best kind of films fall out of the ether and hit you hard . They appear from nowhere and leave you marked , forever . Ink , an unknown movie , came calling at my door serendipitous while looking for something to watch tonight . Words fail me , they fall far too short in any descriptive attempts I could muster to review the movie I have just been immersed in . So I will let my frequent tears during the film speak for me . This finely crafted work played , expertly , and beneficially on my emotions. The film made my own time change its shape and it lost all meaning to me . Only the movie had movement and form . It possessed me . Rarely does this happen these days . When it does if feels as if a tiny piece of heaven has entered in to one's heart and mind . This film is powerful : in content , in story and in its writing , its visual appearance ,and in the actors performances . Great films best come without fanfare and and flashing lights . They quietly involve and bond and bind you to them like modern day alchemy.....I was hoping to be curt and concise in this revue . Alas , my heart has made slaves of my fingers and will warrant them no rest . I can recommend this movie whole-heartedly . It is a genuine , original and adsorbing piece of work . So then , open your mind and prepare your heart ..... and let it in.

If you're looking for background noise or something light for a Friday night, choose a different film.This one will worm its way into your cerebellum and explode. I mean that in a good way. It's visually compelling, musically moving, with stellar acting and a script and directing to match.Following the completion of this film I sought out all Winians movies and watched them as well. Nothing short of amazing. I would definitely recommend this for anyone who is sick of the traditional Hollywood clichés and wants to discover what could almost be coined a new genre of film.Prepare to be impressed by the well thought out elements that are combined on a unique fashion to take you on an emotional journey the ends in a place that you couldn't possibly have anticipated.

Definitely different from anything I have seen before. I have the feeling that there is more than Cinema behind this. It feels like some kind of shamanistic art. It has got a kind of positivity which is not emotionally naive, not new age, not rhetorical or superficial, not moral or religious. It is a deeper kind of positivity, and it is brought into a visually fascinating movie with a good script, good acting, and a pleasant soundtrack. You just have to be prepared to a different experience than what you get every day from Hollywood. Although this is not a complicated intellectual movie, and it does not feel heavy at all, it may require a little more commitment than a popcorn movie or a easy going no-think "feel good" movie.

The story is set in a world of a daily and eternal battle between two sets of creatures of the night – the Storytellers and the Incubi. The Storytellers bring people beautiful and happy dreams, whilst the Incubi bring fear and nightmares…The tale is really about John, a career focused man who seems to have lost his purpose and direction. As his daughter is kidnapped by Ink, we slowly find out his personal history over the course of the film. Chris Kelly plays a credible John – whilst in early scenes he seems a bit shallow and stereotypical in his acting, he does a solid job of portraying the different sides of his personality and stages of his life experience. There are a couple of otherworldly characters that are neither Storytellers nor Incubi that don't really work so well – both in terms of the plot and in their acting – but they are minor and don't really detract from the experience.It is a low budget indie movie – the director Winans failed to sell the script to the big studios so decided to go it alone – yet the cinematography and score are unique and immersive. It channels a feel of the better days of Terry Gilliam, mixed with a dash of Guillermo del Toro.At its core it is a very simple story about losing or finding oneself, but it is told in a universe that takes the experience to a different level. You read some books their plot and others for their prose. This movie you watch for its cinematic prose.A generous 8/10.