d’Agostino

http://reviewsbyamoslassen.com/?p=15370

THE LOGLINE

Heading on a transatlantic voyage at sea from an Italian lab to America, D'AGOSTINO is the story of a human clone left for dead at the shores of Santorini Greece. This lost cargo, commissioned by wealthy individuals for organ transplants, is abandoned as the freight cannot be recovered. Allan Dawson has recently inherited his grandmother's island estate. He's in a loveless relationship with his common law spouse Sylvia Krystel. As he finds this interesting freight, what follows is a macabre tale of self realization as Allan proceeds to set himself out of his sedentary existence to mold his latest discovery into a new best friend with dire consequences.



THE STORY

People are a mere obtrusive distraction to Allan Dawson. Stuck in a sedentary relationship with fiancee Sylvia Krystel, his dull repetitious existence gives no gratification. He has a sublime disposition yet an underbelly filled with perceptions of atrocities. His social reality lies bleak in a life situation he sees no solution to until one day he's informed about the inheritance of property left by his grandmother in Santorini, Greece. His impressions and interpretations of his life are obstructed by his constant whaling of irreparable social political and moral solutions he has no control over. However, with his new found real estate acquisition, his inner thoughts and points of view will gradually be coming into being as he's unexpectedly introduced to D'Agostino.

The discovery of D'Agostino encourages a well-meaning ineptitude that rises to empyreal absurdity for Allan, but as his interactions progress, we are exposed to a monstrousness; a penetrating ferociousness within his state of mind that leads to a quality of being ruthless, cruel, harsh, and unrelenting. We soon see Allan fall into the depths of moral perversion which will ignite an explosive and unforeseeable backlash, hence becoming the victim to his own actions.















FILM REVIEW: FROM AMAZON.COM TOP FILM CRITIC GRADY HARP (4 OUT OF 5 STARS)

While Waiting for the Release of D'AGOSTINO March 18, 2012


By Grady Harp HALL OF FAME TOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE


Writer/director Jorge Ameer continues to make fascinating little films that dare to go where few others even contemplate. Asked to review the Unedited Proof of a film is both exciting and frustrating: exciting because the viewer gets to see all the ideas in their various forms before being edited into a final product, frustrating because the film comes in bit and pieces that dilutes the impact of the story. But there is enough here to see that once finished this strange, somewhat macabre story should have appeal with audiences.

Allan Dawson (Keith Roenke) is in a seemingly flatline relationship with live-in girlfriend Sylvia (Torie Tyson, better known for her singing than her acting skills): something is missing (other than the apparent age mismatch between the young Roenke and the more mature Tyson), a fact that becomes apparent when Allan is notified that his grandmother has bequeathed him land on the Greek Island of Santorini. Allan departs to investigate the surprise, thinking he will immediately sell the property to better his financial status. But once he arrives in Santorini he is mesmerized by the beauty of the island and is introduced to the inherited home by an agent Niko (Jorge Ameer). As Allan settles in he hears strange sounds and discovers they come form a locked closet containing a human clone - filthy and whimpering. The naked male is named D'Agostino (Michael Angels): apparently heading on a transatlantic voyage at sea from an Italian lab to America, D'Agostino is a human clone left for dead at the shores of Santorini. This lost cargo, commissioned by wealthy individuals for organ tranplants, is abandoned as the freight cannot be recovered.

Allan cleans the clone, feeds him, keeps him on a leash like a pet animal, an slowly becomes attached to D'Agostino. When D'Agostino goes missing Allan is frantic and searches for his lost treasure along the shores of the island - the place where the lost D'Agostino sits in reverie. Through a series of dream sequences we watch as Sylvia becomes less important and D'Agostino becomes the extension of Allan he has always longed to discover. There is a surprise ending the will take the audience off guard and Jorge Ameer handles this neo-science fiction ending very well.

As is usually the case with Ameer's films, the visuals are of utmost importance. Here cinematographer Zach Voytas captures the flora and fauna and the generally breathtaking beauty of Santorini to great effect. The musical score, the reason for this release of a memento of the film, is a mixed bag, too often covering the dialogue of the film. It will be interesting to see how Ameer polishes this film for a release a bit later this year, but the ingredients are there and hold great promise. It is bizarre, challenging, and inline with Jorge Ameer's fresh take on cinema. Grady Harp, March 12