Film: Cold Souls
Cast includes: Paul Giametti (Sideways), Emily Watson (The Memory Keeper’s Daughter), David Stratharin (Good Night, and Good Luck.), Lauren Ambrose (Six Feet Under), Dina Korzun (Forty Shades of Blue)
Writer/director: Sophie/Barthes (first-time director)
Genre: Off beat, deadpan, absurdist comedy
In brief: Paul Giametti, playing Paul Giametti, is in rehearsals for Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya, and it’s really getting him down. At his agent’s suggestion, he looks into a new service called “Soul Storage.” And how will that help Paul, you wonder? Well, Dr. Flinstein tells Paul, “A twisted soul is like a tumor. It’s best to get rid of it.” Now we cut to a mysterious Russian woman entering the US on a fake passport. Back to Paul… you might think extracting a soul would be painful, but it’s easy and painless, thanks to new technology. And what does an extracted soul look like? Well Paul’s soul looks just like a chickpea. And how does he feel without a soul? He feels “hollow”…and that’s exactly how he’s supposed to feel.
Unfortunately, Paul’s not satisfied with that hollow feeling. Cut again to the mysterious Russian woman. What’s she up to, anyway? When Paul returns to ask for his chickpea soul back, Dr. Flintstein suggests another option… Paul can rent a different soul. From a list of available souls, he gets to pick one. Hmmmm... Paul chooses a soul from a Russian poet. Yikes! (Even I could have told him that was a bad idea!) While the Russian poet’s soul does help him see Vanya in a new light, Paul’s more miserable than ever. Enough of this nonsense! Paul wants his own soul back. But now there’s a new problem… that mysterious Russian woman we’ve been seeing and wondering about is part of a Russian black market in “soul trafficking.” Paul’s soul has been sold on the black market. And then it gets even more twisted.
Nobody does comic brooding better than Paul Giametti, and it’s enjoyable to watch his performance. But if you’re not into absurdist storytelling you may come away from Cold Souls feeling “hollow.” The film touches on many serious themes… capitalism, bizarre and overheated consumerism, frivolous medical practices, black marketeering and soullessness… but if there’s a message here, it’s out of reach. But that’s the point. It’s a throwback to pure absurdist storytelling. A lot of themes are put out there with no easy resolution.
2 popped kernels
Popped kernels for the creative story. Unpopped kernels for not making me care that much about the characters.
