You Should Rent #8
The Salton Sea - D.J. Caruso
"Nothing is as it seems." You have to go below the surface of what you see on screen and focus in on the characters Caruso is presenting to us, which isn't that hard to do when characters are stretching their limits showing us who they really are. Ignore the meth setting of their dwellings and interchange that with a "happy place" location and the story is still pretty intense (or we sympathize with Val Kilmer) as we follow our main guy through two lives, hoping he'll pick the right path.
You Should Rent #7
Noi the Albino - Dagur Kári (2003)
It's been a while since I've seen this, but I do recall the same bleak blue colors shown throughout the film which emphasizes the isolation, cold, and desolate town that Noi lives in. Noi, an albino - though in no way similar to Powder- is a rebel. Is it by choice or is it because this town is so wack? Either way, it captures adolescence rebellion at its (almost) finest form. It's something we're all familiar with regardless of where we reside. We don't hate Noi, instead, we sympathize for him because he's only trying to find himself. The beautiful Icelandic landscape makes a few cameos and adds to the visual simulation of the film.
Find it on Amazon here.
