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A low-budget, black-and-white film noir about Mongolian immigrant brothers who, down on their luck, decide to kidnap the son of a wealthy businessman and hold him for ransom. This goes as well as all crimes do in film noir.
This movie is set in a very recognizable Los Angeles - not Hollywood or Beverly Hills, but Culver City and Koreatown and places like that. In fact I once had an apartment that was incredibly similar to the one most of the action of this movie takes place in, all the way down to the interior detailing and inset shelves.
In the Land of Lost Angels involves multiple elements which I like very much: a recognizable and atmospheric setting, noir, and characters who are some sort of social minority in a story which is not about explaining their culture to outsiders. Being Mongolian is significant to the characters, who are very much outsiders and whose responsibilities to an ailing family member back in Mongolia sets off the plot, but the story is not about the Troubles of Mongolian Immigrants.
This is a small-scale, nicely-acted, well-written noir, with stylish cinematography. It's stylish in general. It has a stark, pared-down, back-to-basics feeling that suits the undoubtedly very low budget. I hope the two main actors and writer-director get more opportunities, because their work is thoughtful, understated, and confident.
Watch on Amazon
This movie is set in a very recognizable Los Angeles - not Hollywood or Beverly Hills, but Culver City and Koreatown and places like that. In fact I once had an apartment that was incredibly similar to the one most of the action of this movie takes place in, all the way down to the interior detailing and inset shelves.
In the Land of Lost Angels involves multiple elements which I like very much: a recognizable and atmospheric setting, noir, and characters who are some sort of social minority in a story which is not about explaining their culture to outsiders. Being Mongolian is significant to the characters, who are very much outsiders and whose responsibilities to an ailing family member back in Mongolia sets off the plot, but the story is not about the Troubles of Mongolian Immigrants.
This is a small-scale, nicely-acted, well-written noir, with stylish cinematography. It's stylish in general. It has a stark, pared-down, back-to-basics feeling that suits the undoubtedly very low budget. I hope the two main actors and writer-director get more opportunities, because their work is thoughtful, understated, and confident.
Watch on Amazon
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