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City of Ghosts (2003)
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Reviews Counted: 66
Fresh: 31
Rotten:35
Average Rating: 5.5/10
Consensus: Atmospheric, but that's about it.
Theatrical Release:Apr 25, 2003 Limited
Box Office: $275,998
Synopsis:
Jimmy Cremmins (Matt Dillon) has been working as a front man for a bogus insurance company set up by his longtime mentor, Marvin (James Caan). In the aftermath of a disastrous hurricane, claims...
Jimmy Cremmins (Matt Dillon) has been working as a front man for a bogus insurance company set up by his longtime mentor, Marvin (James Caan). In the aftermath of a disastrous hurricane, claims against their fabricated coverage come pouring in. With Marvin living as an expatriate in Southeast Asia, Jimmy is forced to face the subsequent chaos and investigation on his own. He decides instead to flee and re-group with Marvin in Asia, against Marvin's wishes.
After a short stay in Bangkok, Jimmy goes to Cambodia in search of Marvin. During his pursuit he finds himself a stranger in the mysterious and often hostile environs of Southeast Asia. With the aid of the duplicitous Kaspar (Stellan Skarsgård), another of Marvin's business associates, Jimmy eventually finds Marvin, who attempts to convince Jimmy to join him in his latest venture, the development of a large scale casino with a Cambodian ex-general. But Cambodia is another world - one in which the rules are different, a world where violence isn't merely a threat but a reality - and even the savvy Marvin ends up in over his head.
As Jimmy finds himself drawn further down a darkening path of deception, it also becomes his path of self-discovery.
United Artists, Mainline Productions, and Banyan Tree present, in association with Kintop Pictures, the byzantine drama City of Ghosts. The writing/directing debut of actor Matt Dillon, City of Ghosts stars Dillon, James Caan, Natascha McElhone, Gerard Depardieu, and Stellan Skarsgård. Written by Dillon & Barry Gifford, the film was produced by Willi Baer, Michael Cerenzie, and Deepak Nayar with line producer Rony Yakov and co-producers J.B. Meyer & Olivier Granier. The talented production team includes music by Tyler Bates, production design by David Brisbin, editing by Howard E. Smith, and cinematography by Jim Denault.
Starring: Matt Dillon, James Caan, Natascha McElhone, Gerard Depardieu
Starring: Matt Dillon, James Caan, Natascha McElhone, Gerard Depardieu, Stellan Skarsgaard, Shawn Andrews
Director: Matt Dillon
Director: Matt Dillon
Screenwriter: Barry Gifford, Matt Dillon
Producer: Willi Baer, Michael Cerenzie, Deepak Nayar
Composer: Tyler Bates
Studio: MGM/UA
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Reviews for City of Ghosts
can be criticised of many things, but wasting locations and local talent is not one of them
The surprise is not necessarily that Dillon has a unique voice, but rather that the voice is so bizarrely dark and uninhibitedly exotic.
Shows some promise in that it wants to say something, but there are plenty of forgettable moments to go along with it.
The movie fairly oozes with atmosphere, and its cast contains enough colorful characters to make Casablanca blush.
Longtime actor, first-time director Matt Dillon relates an urgency and passion behind the camera, intent on telling us one story while showing us another.
Dillon is so eager to show the duality of Cambodia, the grace and the grime, that he sacrifices major story elements to do so.
There is so much to admire in Matt Dillon's City of Ghosts that the feeling left over after watching it is an unsettling sense of disappointment and unfairness.
Though 'City of Ghosts' can't match its models, it takes us close enough to Greeneland to be a worthy homage and an impressive, though flawed, debut...well worth a look.
While it won't be remembered as great cinema, it is actually a tight piece of film noir.
A bit of exotic neo-noir, clunky in parts and long, but often engaging and artfully atmospheric as well.
While the film is not short on ideas or implications, none of them is fully developed, leaving us little but atmosphere and warm whiskey to drink in.
In the end, it becomes clear that the missing ingredient in City of Ghosts is nothing more than some additional directing experience on the part of Dillon.
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