you'll leave the cinema uhm... with nothing?

Rating: 7/10 (4 June 2005)

Contrary to the heading, the movie indeed was a visual fest. Here you'll see storyboards come to life with the editor not sleeping on the job. He plays with the shots, cuts them to effect fast paced action and wows the audience with a smörgåsbord of cinema techniques. The cinematography too is commendable. One gets the feel of lights and shadows, of danger and evil lurking around, of real film noir! The movie wouldn't work that well if it were in full color. Good that the director stuck with the comics' original color. Lastly, if you're in for an action (slash) violent treat, this movie is for you. Because of the explicitness of brutality, one will get numb somewhere in the middle of the film and then comes the down slope (?) of the movie...
...the movie is a three part episode thinly connected with each other. Perhaps if one will give more time for reflection she can connect the episodes with each other (really, what for?!).
Honestly, I have no idea what the film is about. I haven't gotten my hands on the comics to which this was based. After the hefty load of visuals, what next? The story is empty and you'll definitely leave the cineplex with nothing.
The movie though can inspire a discussion on what movies can show as regards violence and gore. What is art? How far can art go? A lot of plot twisted hyperboles were present in the movie, such as the invincible character of its protagonists and the monstrous nature of the characters (well, it's sin city, that's why!) . But the question still remains, what is sin city about? What does it want to tell its audience? Does art not aim to uplift the human condition? Does cinema mimic life for mimicry alone or does it want to tell something to the voyeur audience? Isn't the voyeuristic character of cinema designed to give its audience a glimpse of who and what they are? Is cinema simply for cinematic technique appreciation alone or for something else more?
With these questions, perhaps Sin City is not a waste after all. You'll leave the movie house with baffling questions about art, cinema, and life in general. Then, the movie is not a failure after all... you might not like it but let me tell you, there's more to the violence and gore than meets the eye.