Customer Reviews

Foreign Correspondents [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This quiet drama from first time filmmaker Mark Tapio Kines is intriguing and poignant. The film is separated into two stories: The first, "Dear Jenny", is about Melody (soft spoken and sweet voiced Melanie Lynskey), a young woman who has moved into a new apartment and begins receiving mail for its former occupant, Jenny. She is curious about the relationship Jenny had with Marcel, the man who keeps writing to her. Should she respond to Marcel's letters? Melody becomes increasingly compelled to get in touch with Marcel and unravel the story of the mysterious girl who once lived in her apartment. The question is, will she be able to deal with the information she'd uncover? It's not all wine and roses.

The second part is called "Love, Trevor", and is about a young man named Trevor (Corin Nemec with a not quite authentic British accent) who travels from England to the United States to visit his pen pal Mira (a refreshing performance from Yelena Danova) who is from Sarajevo but staying with a host family. The trouble is, she will be deported soon and the unsuspecting Trevor has been asked to visit for the purpose of marrying Mira to help her stay in the United States. The only kink in the set up is that Trevor really doesn't want to get married, even though he admits to his buddy Ian (the likable Steve Valentine, a true Brit with the dead on accent to back it up) that he's attracted to Mira, he's not in love with her. He does feel guilty, though. Ian tells him, "Lust and guilt won't last three years". Trevor ponders this moral question -- should he marry someone he loves as a friend but not as a life partner? And if he doesn't, will she be in mortal danger when she returns to her country?

Dear Jenny had a sense of mystery while Love Trevor had me intrigued. I HAD to know who this Jenny girl was and what happened to her and Marcel and I HAD to know which choice Trevor would make. Each story was very compelling and also had a hint of sadness as they mirrored broken relationships, loss, the frustration of indecision and the agony of guilt. In the end, both Melody and Trevor DO make their final choices and must live with the consequences.

The ending left me pondering my own choices in life. If you like introspection and quiet, thoughtful dramas, Foreign Correspondents will be perfect for you. Don't miss Wil Wheaton (Stand by Me, Star Trek TNG) as Jonas, a member of Melody's Neighborhood Watch group who develops a crush on her. He has a line that just makes one groan and grimace but at the same time it hits a nerve. You'll know which one I mean when you hear it.

Overall I enjoyed Foreign Correspondents -- especially the performances of Yelena Danova and Steve Valentine. My biggest complaint is Corin Nemec's hair, which never seems to look good no matter what movie or TV show he's in. His fake Brit accent was a bit distracting because I was so familiar with him as an American, but as the story unfolded I soon accepted him as a Brit. For a first film, this is an excellent piece of work and quite moving.

What would you do if you received a love letter intended for someone else? How would you respond to a family's persistent attempts to marry you off to someone you're incredibly attracted to -- but not in love with? The quest for love -- or anything remotely resembling it -- is deftly and poignantly played in FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS, an engrossing debut feature from writer-director Mark Tapio Kines. The film consists of two structurally independent but thematically linked storylines, both of which revolve around near-romances triggered by an overseas letter. In the first, "Love Jenny," a lonely young woman (HEAVENLY CREATURES' heavenly Melanie Lynskey) begins receiving a series of increasingly ardent love letters intended for her apartment's former resident. Does she throw them away -- or feed the fantasy? "Love, Trevor," the second story, follows a similar ethical dilemma as a young rover (Corin Nemec) accepts a free airline ticket to visit a beautiful Bosnian sort-of-girlfriend -- only to become enmeshed in her foster family's scheme to marry her off for a green card. I loved the film for its subtly increasing sense of alienation and dread (remiscent of DON'T LOOK NOW or CARNIVAL OF SOULS) -- but this is no horror movie. It's warm, frequently moving, and often quite funny (watch for STAR TREK's Wil Wheaton as the goofy neighbor from hell). Think of a southern-California Truffaut, or Woody Allen without all the twitchy self-absorbtion. Buy and watch at least three times to get all the juice out of this subtly woven tale. *Note for film buffs: this was the first independent feature to raise nearly all of its funds on the Internet.

Mark Tapio Kines had side-stepped the cliches of the industry and made a movie that is thought-provoking, sensitive and a departure from the usual run-of-the mill fare. Starring New Zealand's Melanie Lynskey, Wil Wheaton (charmingly funny as the neighbour) and Corin Nemec, Foreign Correspondents wevaes two stories into one and gives us an insight into relationships and love lost and found.
Many elements of the film are subtle, indeed I had to watch it twice to pick up the nuances - I enjoy being required to think about what I am watching.
Mark's commentary is enlightening and entertaining and worth listening to after you've watched the feature.
I'm looking forward to Mark's new film project, (tentatively titled Claustrophobia) with great anticipation
The DVD is region-free, it'll play on any DVD player

I enjoyed the first part of this movie, where Melanie Lynskey plays a lonely young woman just out of college--working a boring job as a receptionist. Given the absence of anything else in her life, she becomes intrigued by letters that arrive at her apartment mailbox for one of the previous inhabitants--letters sent by a man seeking a response from a woman with whom he seems to have had some sort of romantic connection. As always, Lynskey plays this role convincingly.

Like most people, I am most familiar with Melanie Lynskey from her role as Rose in two and a half men. When I first watched the show I gave rather little thought to her character or to her ability as an actress. That all changed, however, when I saw her in a minor role in "Sweet Home Alabama" as the hometown friend of the main character who brings her baby to the local bar. I did a double take when I saw Lynskey in that role--given the way in which she assumed the southern accent and body language of her character. I then realized that her character Rose was also completely different from the young woman from New Zealand seen on Youtube interviews. I continue to be impressed by the chameleon-like Lynskey as an actress (and her mastery of English dialects) and look forward to more movies in which she plays a central role.

The second half of the movie was okay, but the ultimate resolution and theme of the two halves left me confused. Why the pictures of Melody (Lynskey's character) and the British guy at the end? Would it have really been so hard to have the two speak some lines in a scene or two together? Maybe there is something that I just don't get here.

This film is written by the director, which allows him to present his purpose in the way he intended it. It presents a world of misunderstandings, mistaken objectives, and rather ordinary characters trying to fit into a society not of their making. It's a story of lonely young people searching for love, but it could be about people of any age. Loneliness knows no age or gender. The film has a number of rather humorous scenes and the music is outstanding. The director's comments add to the interest in the story.

There is something inherently romantic about receiving a hand written letter from a foreign country. This is all too enticing for each of the lead characters in "Foreign Correspondences". Director and writer Mark Tapio Kines explores the journey of two young individuals looking for love and acceptance only to have their pursuit complicated by their well-meant intentions going wrong. There are poignant performances by Melanie Lynskey and Corin Nemec as they portray characters that are both strong and completely fallible. Each of the stories are memorable and honest, you will be embrace by this sincere film.

Well there are two stories to this movie, that sort of tie together. As you may assume from the title, an underlying theme in this film involves letters. While this isn't addressed too much except for the first story, the theme is present durring the film.
The first story deals with a woman who has moved into an apartment and how she deals with what she finds out about it, and its previous occupant.
The second story is that of a man who is invited out from the UK to stay with a family in the US who is hosting a woman from Bosnia (I think it was Bosnia). Anyway, he is brought out in hopes of marrying her so she doesn't have to return home to a war torn country.
The acting is ok, the film is rather low budget, and there are no extras on the dvd (in fact there are no chapters as the movie in whole is 1 chapter). This stories are slow, and a bit depressing. So why 3 stars do you ask? Well I'm biased a bit. I'm one of the uncredited pool players in the second story. My little claim to cinematic fame. :)

If you like stories that tie together, or have an interest in seeing some seens from the bay area in a movie, or just want a inde sort of film, check this one out. Otherwise, it probably won't do much for your interests.