And I mean indie as a compliment. Nothing is more amazing than finding a real indie that kicks ass. Making a movie is insanely difficult, and true indies (if you have Brad Pitt, a million dollars, or Fox Searchlight, that would be Hollywood masquerading as an "indie") require years of sacrifice, pain, and dedication. So often personally financed at great risk by the filmmakers themselves, these are passion projects. Even putting all that aside,
Stay is still an awesome film with characters you can care about, relate to, sympathize with, and understand. It is a gripping story about an addict struggling to recover and finding romance along the way. I love how when we first meet Ryu, you wouldn't know he is the main character. Working at a fish market rearranging trash, he blends right in like a real person just doing their job and the way you see shots before that of other real people around him working sells that. Little details make all the difference. These actors do such a fantastic job you really believe in them. They have a chemistry that is undeniable. You get to see so much of Tokyo too and not the common touristy areas but more so, the real life here. The score is great as well. After four long years, fifteen festivals, and six awards (yes, I stole that from their website), the film has finally come out on Amazon Prime so please support it
here. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. It's not horror but it's great.
