TWO/ONE **** UK/China/Canada/Argentina 2019 Dir: Juan Cabral. 115 mins
Two men, complete strangers to one another and living on opposites sides of the planet, share a mysterious connection through cycles of sleep and consciousness.
The film focuses’ on two strangers on the opposite side of the planet who are interconnected by both battling the odds of their existence. The different timelines play a factor as we see Khai wake up when Kaden is going to bed. Khai played by Song Yanga is a man who we see frequent porn websites to masturbate, unhappy with his life, though his obsession with one girl on a revenge porn site begins to take over his life so much so that he manifests her into his existence when his dream girl starts work at his office his life will change forever! And at the opposite end is Kaden played by Boyd Holbrook a Ski Jumper who has reached the heights of his professional career but is reluctant to retire from the sport that ultimately is his all in life. Kaden regrets his past and soon revisits his ex-girlfriends life seeing that she is now married with kids and gazing upon the life he could have led. He begins an affair with her that will change both their lives forever!
Juan Cabral’s debut feature film hits all the spots here, somewhere between masterpiece and mindfuck!
Either way you certainly come away from this film thinking and mainly thinking about your own life instead of what the hell did I just watch or over think the films plot, which is a very good thing. Not only was the film shot to perfection with some of best cinematography I have seen in a long while, but Cabral manages to create a dreamlike claustrophobic universe within his film which ironically is about sleep and awakening and parallel lives.
I loved this film and I will be eagerly awaiting the directors next offering.
Fans of dark gritty surrealistic drama will love this unrelenting slice of life dramatic offering.
Review by Tony Newton