World Premiere

Short Synopsis:

A terrible though fascinating reality and little glimmers of light in its immobility.

Review:

In this Brechtian drama, two old friends seek to escape the confines of their useless lives by committing a childish and futile robbery. Enzo and Tonino are nothing more than moths battering themselves against a bright bulb, an unachievable dream behind the glass of reality.

The events in the film unfurl in an approximation of real time as Enzo and Tonino wait under a single glowing streetlamp with a mystery package. This oozing, unknown mass in a nondescript black trash bag is the McGuffin of the film, a reason to keep the two men in this single location. Within this sparse space they discuss the importance of culture to human existence, snort some Columbian cocaine, and plan for a future of promise after their heist. In the hour it takes for their unsuspecting associate to arrive they imagine life in glorious Paris as their means of escape. These sequences create a sharp contrast to their bleak surroundings with collages of beautiful dancing girls, bright colours and gay music. It is revealed that neither friend has ever been to the city of their dreams. The Paris they imagine is only a product of what they have read and fantasized.
 
Moths is a well-paced, insightful film that will trap the viewer within its glowing, deceptive web as life has trapped its two protagonists.

 

Meredith Hicks