Films like “The Dark Knight”, “Inception”, or “The Avengers” are movies that get people’s attention through advertisement and success at the box office. These movies are popular and hit mainstream audiences, unlike some movies that don’t even make it to local theaters. I’m not talking about straight-to-dvd flicks like “Death Race 3”, or “Mega Shark Versus Crocosaurus” (check that out if you want a good laugh). I’m talking about the indie films that didn’t have the budget of $100,000,000 or more.
“Ink” is an example of the beauty that can be independent films. “Ink” premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2009, and at the Cancun Film Festival in Denver (where it won the Best International Feature award). From there, it’s been widely circulated through peer-to-peer networks (like Netflix) which led to its commercial success.
The film’s $250,000 budget isn’t the only impressive thing about this film. To be honest, I thought the film would be mediocre. Some friends of mine and I stumbled upon it during our late night Netflix adventures, and we don’t regret one bit of it. The plot, the writing, just the concept as a whole, is amazing.
The plot of this movie is something else. Brace yourselves. The film takes the idea of dreams and nightmares, and gives it to its audience masterfully. In “Ink”, the concept of dreams or nightmares aren’t like we think. In the movie, these dreams are given to the characters by warriors called Storytellers, and the nightmares are given to them by people called Incubi.
Because of the small budget, the special effects of this movie aren’t like 2012’s “Life of Pi”, but they do a tremendous job with what they have with the teleporting of the Storytellers, and the effects done with the Incubi. The film is written and directed by Jamin Winans. Winans’ script itself isn’t jaw dropping, but his directing of this film is something else. While watching this movie, it’s hard not to think of what Christopher Nolan would do if he got his hands on it. It’s almost got that kind of feel to it, and falls under the same movie category as “Inception”, “The Dark Knight” and “The Prestige”.
There’s a big chance you haven’t seen “Ink”, but if you ever get the chance, give it a try. You can find it on Netflix and Hulu.
