Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Quiet, Compelling Drama, March 29, 2003
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.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
First Class Delivery, January 25, 2002
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.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique, touching and thought-provoking, April 24, 2002
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
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