FOR TRAILERS AND REVIEWS, SEE THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE
U.S.A.: William Kaufman's The Prodigy
Cast: Holt Boggs as Truman Fisher, Glen Vorhis as James/'Claude Rains', Matt Beckham (PDF file) as Pat Doyle, Diana Lee Inosanto as Ash Carter, Mirelly Taylor (a.k.a. Ruth Osuna) as Nicki, Lawrence Varnado as Kinyon 'King' Taylor, Marc Hebert as Ricky, Marc Jeffreys (PDF file) as J.T. Baker, Jay Moses as Danny, Tery Corkran as Sam, Dameon Clarke as Chris, Gabriel Buentello as Jesse, Mark Hanson as Jimmi, Jimmy Costello as Leon, Ivan Melgarejo as Cesar, Jeremy Rives as Mick, Ron Balicki as Frank, Steve Simpson as Big Ed, Christie Sanders as Michelle, Aaron Garrett as Smiley, Josh Jordan as Johnie, Michael Rodrigues as Mad Dog, Russell White as Larry, Lorenzo Mercado as Jonny Perez, Christian Craft as young Truman Fisher, Robin Robinson as a CPS counselor, and William B. Laureano (a.k.a. Willie Laureano) as Miamoto.
Synopsis: "'The Prodigy' tells the story of small-time enforcer Truman Fisher's vicious conflict with a sadistic assassin who has chosen the unwilling Truman to be his successor. The assassin, who goes by the alias Rains and whose exploits have become the source of legend among Truman's underworld colleagues, drives Truman, through the pressure of constant violence and grief, to understand his own capacity for both bloodshed and compassion. Ultimately this reveals to Truman that he as with all of us, must find our place in this world or as Rains would say 'our place in this grand design.' ¶ This action begins quickly as Truman meets with a turncoat from a rival gang. This tense showdown erupts quickly into mayhem, when Rains makes his unexpected entrance. In the wake of the ensuing bloodbath, Truman is forced to reevaluate his own role in the small, violent world he inhabits, suddenly aware that there are larger powers at work which he does not understand. It soon becomes obvious that the strongest of these is Rains, whose jarring introduction into Truman's life is only the first in a series of carefully calculated steps. During the course of the film, Rains, after kidnapping [the nephew of Truman's boss], will force him into the role of detective, spurring Truman to assemble a rogue's gallery of underworld contacts in an effort to find his nemesis. ¶ But Rains has a more ambitious agenda than merely terrorizing minor hoods: he soon begins to threaten Truman directly, menacing Truman's love, Nicki, with whom Truman hopes to soon escape from the drab meanness of his life. Rains will also threaten Truman's few true friends and sow deadly confusion among underworld enemies and allies alike. Striking with murderous effectiveness and leaving behind few clues, Rains uses his own near-mythical reputation to cloud his presence and even his own existence. Truman struggles to find his mysterious enemy while at the same time attempting to understand why Rains has chosen him as his target - and as his inspiration."
U.S.A.: Yuri Zeltser's The Circle
Cast: Angela Bettis, Scott Cohen, Henry Czerny, David Proval, Bokeem Woodbine, and Kamala López-Dawson.
Synopsis: "As a contract killer prepares for his next hit, a frightened woman pounds on his door asking for help. He rebuffs her at first, until he discovers that her husband is his next target. The woman finally convinces him to take her to the mob boss' club so that she can plead for her husband's life.... After her descent into this hellish club with its vice and its violence, she returns to her husband, and with one final twist, the true nightmare of her journey is revealed. ¶ Shot in one uninterrupted take with no edits, the approach is not a mere cinematic device, but a thematic extension of the story. The uninterrupted flow of the shot adds to the tension and suspense, enhancing the hypnotic, dream-like journey of the main character."
France: Harry Cleven's Duplicity (Trouble)
Cast: Benoît Magimel, Natacha Régnier, Nathan Lacroix, Olivier Gourmet, Christian Crahay, Patrick Descamps, Hanna Novak, Benjamin Engelman, David Engelman, Sabrina Leurquin, Carine Sombreuil, Guylene Olivares, Morgan Perez, Michèle Van Brussel, France Van Brussel, Boris Dammekens, Guillaume Dammekens, Fabienne Loriaux, Micheline Hardy, Sandrine Laroche, Jeannine Hannaert, Fabio Zenoni, Thomas Stuyck, Véronique Lemaire, Vanessa Dubaix, Fanny Roy, Jean-Henri Compère, Patrick Mores, Henri Van Meines, and Sylvie Suzor.
Synopsis: "Matyas is a thirty year old photographer. He shares a happy life with his wife, Claire, eight months pregnant, and his little boy, Pierre. Matyas is an orphan since he was six year old and has no recollection of his early childhood. However, one day, he is astonished to discover the existence of his dead mother and his twin brother, Thomas, whom he knew nothing about. Deeply moved, Matyas tries to recall his past. But Thomas is enigmatic and threatening...."
Italy: Eros Puglielli's Eyes of Crystal (Occhi di cristallo)
Cast: Luigi Lo Cascio as Detective Giacomo Amaldi, Lucía Jiménez as Giuditta Luzzato, José Ángel Egido as Officer Frese, Simón Andreu as Officer Ajaccio, Carmelo Gómez as Professor Avildsen, Eusebio Poncela as Professor Civita, and Desislava Tenekedjieva as Lucia.
Synopsis: "A brilliant detective with a tragic past; a beautiful girl hounded by a maniac; a ferocious serial killer whose hobby is mutilating his victims; and a race against time to stop him - these are the ingredients of 'Eyes of Crystal', a tense, heart-stopping thriller, somewhere between 'Seven' and 'Silence of the Lambs'. ¶ In a city besieged by disorder and corruption, Detective Giacomo Amaldi (Lo Cascio) is on a mission: cold and precise, with an unfailing, instinctual understanding of maniacs and murderers, he immediately recognizes that, behind the brutal execution of a young couple and the peeping tom who was spying on them, lies the sick mind of a serial killer. And new facts bear him out. The killer finds new victims, mutilating them in a sadistic game - for him like playing with dolls - and employing a horrific technique which earns him the reputation of 'The Taxidermist'. ¶ However, the hunt for the serial killer is not Detective Amaldi's only problem, as his colleague Ajaccio (Caba) has been diagnosed with a brain tumor; he has only a few months to live. At the same time, a beautiful anthropology student, Giuditta Luzzato (Jiménez), has asked for Amaldi's help in tracking the maniac who is stalking her. Giuditta hits on Amaldi's natural desire to protect her while also re-awakening painful memories still not fully buried. ¶ And for Ajaccio, now confined to a hospital bed, his sickness also brings up memories long-thought forgotten. The past returns, threateningly, particularly when mysterious signals linking him to The Taxidermist begin to appear around him and, literally, upon him. ¶ As Amaldi's professional interest in Giuditta is turning rather more personal, Avildsen (Gomez), her anthropology professor, helps the detective to form a more precise portrait of the killer. Amaldi must rely not only on his training as a policeman but on his heart and on his past, which he mistakenly believed he had left behind. ¶ The bodies continue to pile up, and the killer begins a nasty game of cat and mouse with Amaldi, choosing victims that bring him closer and closer to the detective and leaving him cryptic messages. ¶ After the cruel murder of the victim thus far closest to Amaldi, the next target is certainly Giuditta. A climactic encounter with the killer will reveal horrible truths, secret identities, and unexpected courage in a violent crescendo sure to leave the audience holding its breath to the very end."
Japan: Tôru Matsuura's Synesthesia (Gimî hebun) - a.k.a. "Gimme Heaven"
Cast: Yôsuke Eguchi, Aoi Miyazaki, Masanobu Andô, Ryûhei Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Hijiri Kojima, Minoru Torihada, and Toshiyuki Kitami.
Synopsis: "[synesthesia / synaesthesia] (sin'is-the'zhea) n. ¶ A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color. Synesthesia is 'abnormal' only in being statistically rare. Synesthesia is a sensibility which cannot be understood by other people. An incident brings two lonely souls who possess this unsolved puzzle of mind to meet, leading to strange events and a serial murder case. ¶ Shinsuke has been going on with his uneventful daily life, with 'synesthesia' being the only symptom differentiating him from others. He keeps the dark depth of his mind to himself, but feels distant even from his best friend and his fiancee. Mari has also been feeling deep solitude from experiencing synesthesia which she feels she is unable to share with anyone. Her parents have passed away, and her adoptive parents mysteriously die, one by one. Picasso, the 'dealer of death', comes into scene as mysterious incidents and murder occur one after another. Shinsuke suspects that Mari is being followed by Picasso, and that she may be the next victim. Shinsuke and Mari's fateful meeting upturns their lives and leads them to tragedy."
The Prodigy trailer #2 (downloadable 6.1 MB MOV file)
The Prodigy trailer #1 (downloadable 12.1 MB MOV file)
The Prodigy official website
Variety: Review of The Prodigy
The Circle trailer (downloadable 6.5 MB MOV file)
Fabrication Films: The Circle official webpage
Duplicity trailer #2 (French w/ English subtitles; downloadable 4.3 MB WMV file)
Duplicity trailer #1 (French w/o subtitles; downloadable 4 MB SWF video)
Duplicity official subsite (in French)
TF1 International: Duplicity official webpage
Twitch review: Duplicity
Eyes of Crystal trailer #2 (Italian w/ English subtitles; downloadable 6.1 MB WMV file)
Eyes of Crystal trailer #1 (Italian w/o subtitles; downloadable 13.7 MB MOV file)
Eyes of Crystal official website (in Italian)
TF1 International: Eyes of Crystal official webpage
Synesthesia 1 MB theatrical trailer (Japanese w/o subtitles; streaming Windows Media)
Synesthesia 500 KB theatrical trailer (Japanese w/o subtitles; streaming Windows Media)
Synesthesia teaser trailer (Japanese w/ English subtitles; downloadable 1.6 MB Shockwave Flash file)
Shôchiku: Synesthesia teaser trailer page
Synesthesia official website
I remember watching 'The Prodigy' at Raindance.
Thought it was a quite forgettable run-of-the-mill thriller, although the gothic overtones made it slightly more interesting.
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