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Xu and Leung have terrific chemistry, and their engaging banter continually reveals deeper feelings. It gets a little tricky keeping their three layers of characters apart, although it becomes clear that they are using these alter egos to address much bigger issues between them. This creates some strikingly serious moments that are beautifully played. And it helps us make sense of the nutty realities they are juggling, cleverly highlighting drama that's performative or authentic.

At the centre are two people contending with the tension between prioritising business and commercial success as opposed to art and having fun. So as Daniel and Ryan encounter issues in their friendship, they discover that sometimes they need to drop the meta-artifice and simply talk to each other. And maybe switch off the camera. Not that they'd ever do something as drastic as that. And of course, the message is that it's making a movie that will make you feel like a filmmaker.

themes, language

10.Jan.25

Appropriately, performances are increasingly silly. The central family is established with the usual dynamic: Frost and Bea find strong chemistry as frazzled parents looking forward to cutting loose away from home, while Croft and Ayres play up the snarky sibling rivalry. The family banter is witty and realistic, even as it spirals into grotesque slapstick. Of the locals, Milonoff adds nuance to his riotously creepy role, even if it's overstated by the filmmakers. Suikkari and Virtanen (as a local detective) also have their moments.

Instead of using the excessive violence to propel the story or add amusing character notes, the movie begins to feel a bit rushed in the final act. Dutch director Steffen Haars plays up the nastiness for laughs, which is a very difficult balancing act. It doesn't always work, especially in some of the more startlingly gruesome moments, but those who enjoy this genre will end up hoping that they can take another holiday with this family in the near future.

themes, language, violence, sexuality

7.Jan.25

Ross and Day infuse the dialog with deep-seated feelings, including a mixture of curiosity about the present and familiarity from the past. This charges their rolling banter with pointed meaning that's specific to each of these men. Kostas and Dima did their military service together as teens, then were a couple afterwards, and now after all these years they can feel the echo of their bond.

Eventually Kostas proposes that everything is forgiven for this one night, and they break through their barriers. As they speak, they find parallels in the way Dima left Russia and then Kostas left Lithuania. And it all hinges on decisions they made at key moments in time. Along the way, they explore identity issues, such as how Kostas feels like an outsider, both as an immigrant and as a gay man who carries the homophobic culture of his youth around with him. These are big, complex ideas that are discussed with honesty and humanity.

themes, language, sexuality

12.Jan.25