INK - **

Director Jamin Winans. Stars Christopher Soren Kelly, Quinn Hunchar, Jessica Duffy, Jennifer Batter. 2009, USA, Sci Fi/Action, 107 mins., 15 cert.

UK DVD release date 25th April 2011.

In the world of dreams there are forces beyond our control, good and evil battling for human souls. As a young girl falls into a coma and is lost in the world of the subconscious, only her father, and the forces of good dreams, can save her from the eternal nightmare she is trapped in.

Before I lay down my opinions on ‘Ink´ let me first deliver some information about the production itself. There is a lot more to the film than at first might be obvious. It has been hailed as “Probably one of the best independent films you haven’t seen”. Here are the facts.

'Ink’ was produced independently for $250,000 by filmmakers Jamin and Kiowa Winans. To me it is a small film with a very big heart. After the production was completed in 2009 no studios were interested in distribution, either theatrical or home, leading to the couple distributing the film personally from their website. In a week the film was downloaded through file-sharing sites 400,000 times which exposed the film to a large audience and led to higher sales of their film. Because of this unprecedented exposure the film is now finally being released outside of the US. With a history like that it is worth seeing the film just to see what all the fuss was about, and I’m sure it won’t disappoint.

Between the Winans many roles in the film were covered. There are credits for Executive Producers, Director, Editor, Composer, Art Direction, Costume Design and Sound Design. The film has been carefully crafted and produced in such a personal manner and this really shows beautifully onscreen. This isn’t your big budget ‘Inception’ or ‘The Matrix’, although it has been compared to both. This is a deeply personal and truly independent production and we need more like it.

‘Ink’ opens very sharply and is instantly very visual. It is a little overwhelming at first, with seemingly lots of characters being introduced at once. It is necessary though as the film doesn’t want to spend a long time setting up the characters and situations. It is also very non-linear, adding to the confusing feel of the dream state. Lots of time, effort and creativity has quite clearly gone into this, both into the script and also the production.

Visually the film is something quite special. Being a sci-fi movie it has a lot of bigger budget films to contend with and it certainly doesn’t skimp on the way it looks. There are lots of CGI effects to behold. The post-production work is actually quite astounding and you can see the thought that has gone into almost every shot on display. Filmed using a budget and basic Sony HVR camera doesn’t detract one bit, the combination of High Definition video and post processing makes the film look a lot bigger and more spectacular than it actually is.

Much of the film is shot with a very dream like style. It works well obviously with the content of the film itself. There is some very interesting lighting and camera angles and movement. The fight scenes are very fluid and actually rather exciting. Lots of hand held and quick cuts help to create a sense of drama and action. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with the action though, as there is a lot going on and many different characters to incorporate into the narrative. It became a little intense sometimes, but I assume that is part of the feeling that the creators wanted so is not necessarily a bad thing.

The music and sound in the film is also very well created. It’s well worth listening on a good sound system. It seemed to me that there was an interesting effect used on the dialogue, which made everything sound quite surreal. The film has to get extra points for all of these fine details that combined really make it feel like a dream. The music itself seems to follow each of the characters through the story and helps to build the bigger picture. It can be dramatic at times and then more underplayed when necessary.

If you find yourself giving up on the film, stick with it. It’s well worth at least one watch and things become a little clearer the further in you get. I found myself mesmerized by a sequence quite late in the film that really pulled everything together. It’s a big and beautiful scene designed around the idea of a chain reaction and it was at this point I really fell in love with the movie. The idea that one small thing can have such a big effect on everything is amazing. It was a perfect cinematic moment for me. If you like sci-fi and action and interesting takes on old stories then this is probably a great choice for you.

Special features were unavailable on the review disc but the retail version contains a few exciting extras which will no doubt be well worth watching. Behind the scenes, interviews, deleted scene and a Director’s commentary are all included. I know for a fact I shall be getting myself a copy on BluRay when released, both for the film itself and for the interest of the extras to shed more light on this fantastic film.

Russ Gomm