Review of 22nd of May

22nd of May (2010)
4/10
Art-house cinema at its most extreme
20 November 2010
This film doesn't have a plot to speak of, it has very little dialogue, it switches from reality to dreamlike sequences of subconscious or imagined events. Most of the time I was wondering what exactly I was watching, how I should interpret the images and what the film maker was trying to tell me.

The 'story' is about a security guard at a shopping center, who survives a bomb explosion and unravels the stories of the other witnesses and victims. The film starts off quite impressively: we see the guard leaving home for work, doing his job and panicking after the explosion. But after that the film slows down, becomes confusing and fails in engaging the viewer. I couldn't help thinking: where does all this nonsense lead us to? There are a few positive points. The locations are superb (we see mostly ugly and timeless cityscapes) and the cinematography is beautiful. And you could argue that this is an intriguing movie which invites the audience not to take everything immediately for granted. In this respect, some people might enjoy it. But I suspect this is a small group.
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