Click to read the article
Chain (2006)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:8
Fresh:5
Rotten:3
Average Rating:6/10
Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: As regional character disappears and corporate culture shapes our environment, it's increasingly hard to tell where you are. In Chain, malls, theme parks, hotels and highways across the globe are... As regional character disappears and corporate culture shapes our environment, it's increasingly hard to tell where you are. In Chain, malls, theme parks, hotels and highways across the globe are joined into one "superlandscape." Two characters appear: one is a businessperson sent out to study theme park prospects; the other is a young drifter, surviving on the fringes of a mall. The feature film mixes documentary and narrative to tell their stories. -- © Antidote Films [More]
Starring: Miho Nikaido, Mira Billotte
Starring: Miho Nikaido, Mira Billotte
Director: Jem Cohen
Director: Jem Cohen
Studio: Gravity Hill Films
Reviews for Chain
A dreamlike travelogue that transforms a mundane world into something strange and new.
A hypnotically involving film based on the genuinely novel idea of stitching together shots taken over a six-year period in 11 American states and six countries.
Jem Cohen's nightmarish portrait of a deracinated world includes footage shot over 10 years in several countries but cut together so seamlessly that the film seems to unfold in a single, continuous strip of malls, hotels and airports.
Jem Cohen's visually haunting film deliberately blurs the lines between fiction, documentary and cinematic essay.
It's still thought-provoking, but not quite as profound as it pretends to be.
Both Nikaido and her untrained co-star, Mira Billotte, do too good a job at portraying ennui and Chain suffers as much as it succeeds from it.
What might have been highly effective as a nonfiction short is extended way beyond its dramatic possibilities, and the narrative structure Cohen has devised adds little to the overall effect.
More Movies
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Sponsored Links
Fresh Links
Featured

Subscribe to RT's YouTube channel and don't miss a second of our cracking video content.

Follow Rotten Tomatoes and join us as we tweet about the week's releases.



Top Critic

