Considering Caro's past work in the movie field, one can really look forward to see his latest film as director : Dante 01.
Well I have to say I was for one really eager to do so and as I watched the movie, even as a full open minded viewer, some scenes were feeling just ... incomplete. The thematic is quite fine, a deep space station used as a psychiatric facility is exiting knowing the visual taste of Caro and the cast is well done too, but in the end every way you look at it the movie never fully unfold his potential.
The story, as mysterious it can be, fail to be emotional or understandable at any level which is really disappointing considering you can't connect to any character at all - especially not with the main one - having a feeling of emptiness despite the solid material that could have been used in a much better way.
The budget isn't large for this movie, that's obvious and still the director pulled some extremely good shots and some solid acting while being uneven at times (considering the budget, I can only guess that some takes as to be done only a few times), still, beyond that there is nothing to properly think of. As said, the story was somewhat promising at the beginning ... and sadly looks still promising at the end, it's a tale with a slow beginning and no real end or ground to rely on - an etheral narration with some pretty visuals and scenes empty of meaning.
If I were to make a comparison, I'd pick "The fountain". They look alike in many ways, sharing a radical vision of movie-making and story telling but where the fountain kept me involved in the character development process and opened some thoughts, "Dante 01" just got me lost somewhere loosing the meaning of it's concept - or maybe I never got it in the first place.
Overall, the movie itself isn't bad and you can see it without regrets it's still a nice movie but it's nothing more and that is probably the most disappointing thing about it : you don't feel more than looking at an OK film. Now, I do hope Caro will be directing again and with a better budget and more freedom over his uncompromising style, making this one just a trial step for better materials next time.
