The Dead End

This tries to be an art film, a morality play, wants to make a statement... but fails on all three counts. The plot (which has some potential) dissolves into confusion. The acting is wooden and cliche.

While the main actress is beautiful and they take advantage of that throughout the film (admirably without unnecessarily crossing the line into lewdness), that and the even-more beautiful scenery seems to be the focal-point of the film. Without such I would have rated this far worse. But the beauty of actress and scenery does keep one entranced until the ending, which falls flat as a brick.

They almost accomplish something with presentation of various characters, but none are fleshed out well enough to offer point or resolution. The writer/director seems to know the point of the movie, but unable to get that across to the audience. The result is a basic waste of the viewer's time, leaving little but disappointment and regret the time watching this film was not better spent.

If the director had been a little more savvy, a little less "mysterious", quite a bit less absorbed in philosophy and more in tying up the loose ends of the story, this might have been a better film. As it stands, I cannot give it even a "mediocre" 5 star rating; it doesn't quite qualify. The movie is too self-indulgent to get the story across, too focused on artistry to tell a story.