Empty Spaces

This movie is awesome. Dude gets divorced so he takes out his life savings and buries it in the woods where his ex-wife can't get her hands on it. That's just good economics. It's smart is what it is. Maybe you think its boring but if you don't like it your stupid. Figure it out. Its not a fast-paced rollercoaster but more of a slow, sinister ride that can still be just as fun and its a nice change of pace for once. Movies don't need to all be the same and this one proves that. Its an observation of one man's life and we see everything through that lens so that we pick up on the subtle details without being delivered all the information directly. Do we love this guy or do we hate him? I found myself on both sides of the equation at different points in the film, although I'm not really sure if weather we are meant to sympathize. Maybe we're just meant to watch and observe and make up our own mind and enjoy the ride! Toodles.

This "movie" is very beautiful from a purely visual standpoint and interesting for that reason alone. It may be worthwhile to watch it with the sound off just to enjoy the stunning cinematography. There are some truly fascinating shots. However, that is the only thing I enjoyed about this film. The story was confusing and went nowhere. Who are these people? Are they brothers? Why was one of them burying money in the wilderness? I have so many questions and none of them were answered. I like for a movie to wrap up all the loose end in the final act and answer all of the viewer's questions. This one did not. Instead it only raised more questions, and I found it frustrating for that reason. It reminded me of a weird European art film or a David Lynch movie, so if you're into that sort of thing you may enjoy this, but it was not for me. I give it 2 stars out of 10 for the story only because there were one or two funny parts, and I give it 10 stars out of 10 for the wonderful cinematography. That averages out to 6 stars out of 10. Thank you and goodnight.

My girlfriend watched this movie when she went to visit her sister and she was confused by it. She couldn't figure out for the love of her life why the man took so much money out of his ATM account and then went and buried it and neither could her sister. They were baffled by it, but when she explained the movie to me I knew right away why he had done it without even having to see it. I told her my theory and she didn't believe me but then I watched the movie for myself and my suspicions were confirmed. He did it because he didn't want his wife to get the money! It is so obvious! My girlfriend said that it doesn't explain it in the movie but it really does! He goes and buries the money and then afterwards he tells his friend that he has split up with his wife and she spends all his money on stupid things and he is going around trying to get his life in order. He doesn't come right out and say that he went and buried the money because of that but I know that is the reason why he did it. Maybe it's just something that women can't understand because my girlfriend couldn't figure it out and neither could her sister but I did.

Actually, I was not expecting to like this one as much as I did. It is a very low budget drama with only a few actors, but it is well done for what it is. There are no gimmicks here, just good old fashioned storytelling.

It is the story of a man who is dealing with a bit of a crisis in his life. At first, I kept waiting for something major to happen, but I realized pretty quickly that this was not that find of film. Instead, we get a glimpse into the real life of this man and those around him. It feels like a documentary at times, and its strength is in its simplicity.

The acting is pretty good for the most part, although there are moments when it is not so great. Some of the best acting actually comes from the two child actors, strangely enough. The film feels slow at moments, but overall it's really good and I liked it a lot. Some people will undoubtedly find it boring, so consider yourselves warned.

There's a certain subtlety to the main actor's performance as his character goes through life pretending everything is o.k., saying he's fine when really he is not. It's the sort of thing you will only pick up on if you've been through it yourself.

He's trying to keep it together for his kids, but he doesn't know quite how to proceed with his life now that his wife has left him and so much has changed. That's where the title comes from. He has "empty spaces" in his daily routine because he has forgotten how to live without his partner.

But everything is not o.k. like he wants it to be and things gradually begin to deteriorate, leading to a psychotic episode involving a garbage disposal. Other than that, he only verbally hints once or twice at the fact that he is suffering inside. Men don't really like to talk about things like that, and this one is no exception. Instead he does what so many of us have done in his situation: he drinks and he drinks.

There's no big climax or clear resolution here and the future for these characters is left open-ended and somewhat ambiguous, as is so often the case in real life. The audience isn't left with hope or a happy ending or anything like that, or maybe they are depending on what they choose to take away from it. I suggest you watch it twice, because the second time around you just might pick up on a few things you missed the first time.