Ocean City Monster Building

I gathered from the end credits that the writer-director was influenced by the Dogme 95 group from Denmark (hand-held camera, no incidental music, no make-up on the actors etc etc....all in the service of naked, unadorned 'realism'). I didn't really feel it fully. I wanted to connect with the story but just couldn't.

I don't know if it's a police drama, a murder mystery, a critique of the U. S. and its treatment of immigrants, or a philosophical statement on life as we know it. The film needs to have a more focused intent for the script. I felt distracted from murder mystery/detective story by the U. S. policy/political critique and the philosophizing dialogue. The script needs tightened up quite a bit. The handheld digital lends well to the period feeling and realistic look added to the tone of the film but it seemed that some of the "art" shots were forced and didn't fit into the flow of the film." The performances were very good which carried me through this indulgent film.

The way they made it reminded me a bit like that German movie Christiane F. I didn't like that movie too much either.