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Watching Julia Camara's film "In Transit" was one of those rare occasions my wife happened to be in the room. It happens sometimes, and once in a while she partakes in my love for indie film. In this particular case, she actually enjoyed the film more than I did. Doesn't happen that often - usually she's much more unforgiving than me. This time however, she's a definite fan. Myself? Not quite as much. The truth is that "In Transit" is not my kind of film. Not by any stretch. Yet I enjoyed watching it with my better half, and other than writing it's not my thing... I was quite surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. Was that because we watched it together? Who's to say.
I'm not going to go into all the plot details - but this film is not what I thought. From the first act alone, I was thinking one hundred percent love story. Boy - was I surprised at the true nature of this movie. What I can say is this. "In Transit" is a chance encounter that changes lives. Just not in the way you think. We have two people coming together - and a massive unloading occurs. I don't want to go into the what's and why's, but let me just say that concept wise - well... I never would have guessed. Perhaps that's the real beauty of this film. Two people engaged in a conversation on their life. As only two strangers could have. No expectations. It also really struck me that given the right situation this could happen. Julia Camara has captured a moment that could be, or could have been, a freeze frame of our own lives. If only fate always worked in the way Camara's film says it does. For the most part, "In Transit" happens to be a single location film. It does use flashbacks and different locations to tell it's story - but for the most part... an airport cafe. This contributed both to the good and bad of the film. The good? It's intimate. A great location to establish conversation between two strangers. What else are you going to do? The downside? It's a little tedious after a while. It's true that the spliced in history cuts help break the monotony... just not quite enough for my tastes. Had the film clocked in at under an hour? Say... forty five to fifty minutes? That lag would have decreased massively. I really have no other suggestions on reducing the lengthy feel other than that. But how about I write about some of the good stuff?
The cast. Branca Ferrazo and Oliver Rayon as our leading woman and man do a fantastic job. These are less than perfect people, stranded at an airport. The chemistry, for the kind of film this actually is, works perfectly. These people might as well have been caught on a hidden camera - because there's really nothing fake about them. As for the visual elements? Save being a little long, "In Transit" flows into your eyes the way it was meant to. I can't recall any jittery edits or outright bad images. It's important to remember this isn't a big budget studio flick - so expecting a million dollar camera rig is unrealistic. The simple fact is this. I had no issues with the production elements. Everything felt A-OK to me. At the end of the day this wasn't what I thought. At the end of the day this wasn't my type of film. However, I was engaged enough to sit through and watch it from start to finish - and that's something... especially considering what I started this paragraph with. "In Transit" will definitely find it's audience and if my reaction is any indication? It should do quite well. A solid three stars. |