Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Headshot (2011) Tribeca 2012 (corrected)


From the director of Last Life in the Universe comes the story of a hit man who is shot in the head when a job goes wrong and then sees the world upside down. Things get complicated when some men come gunning for him.

Bouncing back and forth through time, the film tells the story of Tul, once a cop , now reduced to working as a hit man (the result of not giving in to a corrupt politician). After killing another corrupt politician while dressed as a monk, Tul is shot in the head. After waking up from a coma, Tul finds he now sees the world upside down.

Billed by Tribeca as an action film of sorts, its more a mediation on past deeds as the hunter is now the hunted. There are some action sequences but these are rather low key.

While the film has much on its mind, the film is full of notions of karma, justice and redemption, the film doesn't seem to add up to much. Tul is hounded for being a hit man, but its a choice that was thrust upon him with out really being a choice. How can you discuss karma and justice when the choice is beyond him? How do you punish for the wrong choice when there is no choice?

The other problem is that the film is very much set in Thailand. The film and its sense of corruption is very much Thai. According to the director the bleakness of the out look is responsible for the film's having villains who would never be punished had they been caught killing Tul. Such is the way of Thai society.

I liked the film, but I didn't love it. I know Mondocurry's take on it is different than mine, since he is more familiar with the director and his work. However since movies should stand on their own, I think the film is disappointing.

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