2008 Woodie Awards
Film takes viewers on romp through afterlife
By: Nikole Brown
Issue date: 11/8/07 Section: Lifestyle
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Five out of Five Stars.
In the opening scenes of the dark comedy "Wristcutters: A Love Story," Zia, (Patrick Fugit), cleans his apartment, waters his plants, vacuums and changes his clothes. And then he slits his wrists in
his bathroom.
As Zia lies in a pool of his own blood, the last thing he sees is a dust bunny in the corner and the labored sound of his last breaths. Of course, he killed himself in the name of an ex-girlfriend who broke his heart.
Little does Zia know that death was only the beginning of his story. He finds himself in a world not unlike the one he left, where he works, has an angry roommate and is still depressed - except in this afterlife there are no stars and nobody
can smile.
"Who could think of a better punishment," Zia observed. "Everything's the same, except a little bit worse."
Director Groan Dukic, whose experience is in directing shorts, based the film on the short story "Kneller's Happy Campers" by Etgar Keret, who also co-wrote the film.
In a population made up of suicides, Zia tries to make the best of his situation by going to bars and working, which leads him to Eugene (Shea Whigham), a Russian musician whose entire family
killed itself.
While grocery shopping one day, Zia runs into a friend from his previous life and learns that his ex-girlfriend Desiree (Leslie Bibb) killed herself a month after his death. He decides to find her with the help of Eugene. While on their trip, they befriend Mikal (Shannon Sossamon), a girl who believes her suicide was a mistake and is looking for "the people in charge." On their journey through the barren landscape littered with trash and ripped couches, the three spend their time meeting a mixed bag of other suicides. The audience is treated to flashbacks of each one's demise. They encounter Kneller (musician Tom Waits), a man without a past, who runs the Kneller's Happy Campers site, and at Happy Campers, the three discover there are some things worth living and dying for.
In the opening scenes of the dark comedy "Wristcutters: A Love Story," Zia, (Patrick Fugit), cleans his apartment, waters his plants, vacuums and changes his clothes. And then he slits his wrists in
his bathroom.
As Zia lies in a pool of his own blood, the last thing he sees is a dust bunny in the corner and the labored sound of his last breaths. Of course, he killed himself in the name of an ex-girlfriend who broke his heart.
Little does Zia know that death was only the beginning of his story. He finds himself in a world not unlike the one he left, where he works, has an angry roommate and is still depressed - except in this afterlife there are no stars and nobody
can smile.
"Who could think of a better punishment," Zia observed. "Everything's the same, except a little bit worse."
Director Groan Dukic, whose experience is in directing shorts, based the film on the short story "Kneller's Happy Campers" by Etgar Keret, who also co-wrote the film.
In a population made up of suicides, Zia tries to make the best of his situation by going to bars and working, which leads him to Eugene (Shea Whigham), a Russian musician whose entire family
killed itself.
While grocery shopping one day, Zia runs into a friend from his previous life and learns that his ex-girlfriend Desiree (Leslie Bibb) killed herself a month after his death. He decides to find her with the help of Eugene. While on their trip, they befriend Mikal (Shannon Sossamon), a girl who believes her suicide was a mistake and is looking for "the people in charge." On their journey through the barren landscape littered with trash and ripped couches, the three spend their time meeting a mixed bag of other suicides. The audience is treated to flashbacks of each one's demise. They encounter Kneller (musician Tom Waits), a man without a past, who runs the Kneller's Happy Campers site, and at Happy Campers, the three discover there are some things worth living and dying for.
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