In Phasma Ex Machina, Cody (played by Sasha Andreev) is devastated by the sudden deaths of his parents; even though he's just barely an adult, he has sole custody of younger brother James (Max Hauser), whom he is unintentionally neglecting because of the force of his grief. A year and more later, he has become obsessed with creating a machine that will "bring them back," using electromagnetic fields and negative ions to create something of a bridge between one world and the next. After all, just because people have "passed over" into death doesn't mean the realm they go to is immune from the laws of physics, right? Cody is able to buy arcane electronic equipment, creating his own Vandergraaf Generator and using solar adaptors made and sold by Tom (Matthew Feeney), an older man just coming to terms with the death of his wife six years ago and just starting to form a relationship with a new woman. But Cody is on to something, and Tom's not as much over his grief as he thinks he is. Add to that the fact that nobody can control who might "come back," and, well, anything might happen....
This is a first film by writer/director Matt Osterman, who hosted the World Premiere at the FantAsia Festival in Montreal, and I've got to say, it's perfect. In every way, this is a perfect film - the writing, the direction, the framing of the story, the cinematography, the acting, everything. The only actor I'd heard of in this is Laurie King (who plays a middle-aged neighbour of the boys, in a small but key role), but every one of these actors is spot on. Completely naturalistic in behaviour and authentic in dialogue - you really believe these are real, ordinary people doing things that real, ordinary people do, or would like to do. I was especially impressed with Sasha Andreev, who looks a bit like a cross between Freddy Rodriguez and Casey Affleck, and whose acting is as good as the latter's without the annoying adenoidal voice. Even the ending of the film is perfect, in that not everything comes out alright, but that's okay because that is the way life really is.
Really. This film should be getting a decent release in the US - it helps a lot that it's American-made and in English, perhaps our only FantAsia film without subtitles; I've read rumours that major studios are already lining up for a Hollywood remake, but you know they'll mess that up. So do what you can to encourage a release, please; it's very much worth it! Go to HTTP://www.phasmamovie.com/ - the official website - and check out the trailer for yourself.
This is quite possibly the best film I've seen all year - not best FantAsia film, but film, period. A gazillion stars!
