Time Share (2018)
It may seem like I only watch Korean films, and you'd be almost correct if you assumed so. I actually watch more films than I review, and today's film was Time Share. I wasn't going to review Time Share, mainly because it's critic's review section on IMDB (which coincidentally seems to be where I get all my "clicks") is already pretty full. But, I figured my blog was too Korean orientated, so I thought I'd spice it up. Time Share it is.
I am so mixed on Time Share it is honestly frustrating. The film, directed by Sebastián Hofmann (Halley) and written by Sebastián Hofmann and Julio Chavezmontes (Halley), has a really intriguing premise. The way it's described on IMDB is as follows: "Two haunted family men join forces in a destructive crusade to rescue their families from a tropical paradise, after becoming convinced that an American timeshare conglomerate has a sinister plan to take their loved ones away." Now you'd be right in thinking that sounds interesting, it was the hook that got me to watch the film in the first place. The trailer too boasts some interesting visuals, as well as furthering my interest in the film. What you get however isn't really like the description, in fact it's another The Laundryman or Forgotten situation (two other films I reviewed which had a great concept, but poor execution), in which the film's premise sounds amazing, but somewhere in the writing process they forgot what was good about it in the first place.
I almost want to break this film down into little chunks and dissect it, but that would be a pretty boring read and you really only want a review (right?) So here's what I'll do. I'm going to spoil some major plot points, so as a fair warning to you it'll start imminently. The following paragraph will be spoiler-full, and the ensuing paragraphs spoiler-free. This is just to assist in explaining my views, but generally I felt that the plot didn't really go anywhere and sort of ends with a bit of a whimper. If I was you, which unfortunately I'm not, I'd go watch it (if you're interested) and come back to read this part. If not, then feel free to skip ahead. Up to you. Anyway, you've been warned.
The general conceit starts out really well. In fact the whole film has this really incredible build up. There's a really well developed tense atmosphere from the get go when an employee at the hotel resort is sick for some unexplained reason. We then cut to see our main family get out of their minibus and into their room where they seem comfortable enough. A uncomfortable attempt at sex ensues before another family emerge and claim that the villa is theirs. It turns out the villa was double booked and the family have to share. You see there's this idea that the hotel, and the family that are sharing the villa, are out to get our main characters, and that might very well be true, but it's not what I got. The film doesn't spend enough time building up this story, but instead focuses on that employee that was ill at the beginning of the film. He's sort of gone psycho after losing his son, and is sick of the hotel treating him poorly. He wants to be promoted (I think?) but they're not giving it to him. We follow him around for quite some time, and most of the first 40 to 50 minutes are spooky and atmospheric scenes of him being weird or seeing things. This film seems to want to purport a supernatural, or at least surreal element, but it never really goes anywhere. The film kinda climaxes when the main character is suddenly suspicious that the hotel is out to get him. We're never really given reason to believe so, and actually the only thing the hotel are trying to do, as far as I'm concerned, is to sell them a villa twice a year. It's possible that there's nefarious elements behind it, but I'm not really sure what those are, if any? It's never established that there are, and when the main character (the father of the family) goes on a rampage accusing them of trying to take advantage of them and stealing their personal information, it feels weird when the only thing they're trying to do is sell them something? The father meets up with the psycho employee who gives him the information that the hotel stole their personal information, but that's about the only time they work together. The IMDB description made me believe they'd be working together for the whole film, but really it's only in the end. The other odd thing is that when the main character goes crazy, his wife runs off and starts crying, which would be fine if he wasn't justified in what he was saying. He's right, they stole his information, were trying to trick them into buying a product they didn't want, and were potentially doing something more nefarious. But she runs off as if he's wrong? It's so confusing!
Okay, that's that bit out of the way, so allow me to do a spoiler-free evaluation. I think the biggest problem with this film is that it's neither here nor there in terms of plot. It's all a big build up, making you think something crazy is going to happen, but fizzles out when you realise what is actually going on. It's nothing like the description, nor really the trailer, which seems a shame because it's an enthralling idea. The whole film has a Cure For Wellness vibe about it, and the hotel becomes more and more claustrophobic as the film goes on. It's really well shot and nails the atmosphere, but the story is such a let down. There are too many unanswered questions, and too many parts that don't really add up, or amount to much. It's a disappointing film, in the shell of an exciting one. The film also doesn't spend any time explaining the characters very well, or really developing them in a meaningful way. For example, the main character's wife is ill, which was not something I was fully aware of until the end. It doesn't seem all that relevant to the plot, and just makes the whole film seem that much more confusing, but they make a big deal out of it towards the end, despite it meaning nothing in the grand scheme of things. The wife's development doesn't make sense, and follows a trope that these surrealist, emasculating, family dramas always have; (I suppose this is a spoiler so look away now!) she turns against him for no reason. It's clear this is where the story is headed, I've seen it many times before, it's a common theme, but it doesn't make all that much sense here. This film would have absolutely benefited from some extra screen time, maybe another twenty or thirty minutes so that the characters could develop better, but also so that the story could come to its conclusion without rushing it. The end just sort of happens, it's the most surreal thing about this film once you look beyond the bells and whistles.
It's a shame the first non-Korean thing I review is not so good, but that seems to be a trend these days with my reviews. I seem to be breaking down with the amount of unfortunately wasted material I've been watching. It's more disappointing than wasting my time on just a piece of crap movie, because in this instance, and with many others that I've reviewed, it could have been good. Time Share really had the potential to be something, but it squandered it with a messy story, no development and a short run time. It's beautiful, mesmerising and captivating for 40 minutes maybe, but after its charm wears off, it reveals itself as a thinly veiled bad movie, dressing up as its cool older brother, surrealism.
3/10
I am so mixed on Time Share it is honestly frustrating. The film, directed by Sebastián Hofmann (Halley) and written by Sebastián Hofmann and Julio Chavezmontes (Halley), has a really intriguing premise. The way it's described on IMDB is as follows: "Two haunted family men join forces in a destructive crusade to rescue their families from a tropical paradise, after becoming convinced that an American timeshare conglomerate has a sinister plan to take their loved ones away." Now you'd be right in thinking that sounds interesting, it was the hook that got me to watch the film in the first place. The trailer too boasts some interesting visuals, as well as furthering my interest in the film. What you get however isn't really like the description, in fact it's another The Laundryman or Forgotten situation (two other films I reviewed which had a great concept, but poor execution), in which the film's premise sounds amazing, but somewhere in the writing process they forgot what was good about it in the first place.
I almost want to break this film down into little chunks and dissect it, but that would be a pretty boring read and you really only want a review (right?) So here's what I'll do. I'm going to spoil some major plot points, so as a fair warning to you it'll start imminently. The following paragraph will be spoiler-full, and the ensuing paragraphs spoiler-free. This is just to assist in explaining my views, but generally I felt that the plot didn't really go anywhere and sort of ends with a bit of a whimper. If I was you, which unfortunately I'm not, I'd go watch it (if you're interested) and come back to read this part. If not, then feel free to skip ahead. Up to you. Anyway, you've been warned.
The general conceit starts out really well. In fact the whole film has this really incredible build up. There's a really well developed tense atmosphere from the get go when an employee at the hotel resort is sick for some unexplained reason. We then cut to see our main family get out of their minibus and into their room where they seem comfortable enough. A uncomfortable attempt at sex ensues before another family emerge and claim that the villa is theirs. It turns out the villa was double booked and the family have to share. You see there's this idea that the hotel, and the family that are sharing the villa, are out to get our main characters, and that might very well be true, but it's not what I got. The film doesn't spend enough time building up this story, but instead focuses on that employee that was ill at the beginning of the film. He's sort of gone psycho after losing his son, and is sick of the hotel treating him poorly. He wants to be promoted (I think?) but they're not giving it to him. We follow him around for quite some time, and most of the first 40 to 50 minutes are spooky and atmospheric scenes of him being weird or seeing things. This film seems to want to purport a supernatural, or at least surreal element, but it never really goes anywhere. The film kinda climaxes when the main character is suddenly suspicious that the hotel is out to get him. We're never really given reason to believe so, and actually the only thing the hotel are trying to do, as far as I'm concerned, is to sell them a villa twice a year. It's possible that there's nefarious elements behind it, but I'm not really sure what those are, if any? It's never established that there are, and when the main character (the father of the family) goes on a rampage accusing them of trying to take advantage of them and stealing their personal information, it feels weird when the only thing they're trying to do is sell them something? The father meets up with the psycho employee who gives him the information that the hotel stole their personal information, but that's about the only time they work together. The IMDB description made me believe they'd be working together for the whole film, but really it's only in the end. The other odd thing is that when the main character goes crazy, his wife runs off and starts crying, which would be fine if he wasn't justified in what he was saying. He's right, they stole his information, were trying to trick them into buying a product they didn't want, and were potentially doing something more nefarious. But she runs off as if he's wrong? It's so confusing!
Okay, that's that bit out of the way, so allow me to do a spoiler-free evaluation. I think the biggest problem with this film is that it's neither here nor there in terms of plot. It's all a big build up, making you think something crazy is going to happen, but fizzles out when you realise what is actually going on. It's nothing like the description, nor really the trailer, which seems a shame because it's an enthralling idea. The whole film has a Cure For Wellness vibe about it, and the hotel becomes more and more claustrophobic as the film goes on. It's really well shot and nails the atmosphere, but the story is such a let down. There are too many unanswered questions, and too many parts that don't really add up, or amount to much. It's a disappointing film, in the shell of an exciting one. The film also doesn't spend any time explaining the characters very well, or really developing them in a meaningful way. For example, the main character's wife is ill, which was not something I was fully aware of until the end. It doesn't seem all that relevant to the plot, and just makes the whole film seem that much more confusing, but they make a big deal out of it towards the end, despite it meaning nothing in the grand scheme of things. The wife's development doesn't make sense, and follows a trope that these surrealist, emasculating, family dramas always have; (I suppose this is a spoiler so look away now!) she turns against him for no reason. It's clear this is where the story is headed, I've seen it many times before, it's a common theme, but it doesn't make all that much sense here. This film would have absolutely benefited from some extra screen time, maybe another twenty or thirty minutes so that the characters could develop better, but also so that the story could come to its conclusion without rushing it. The end just sort of happens, it's the most surreal thing about this film once you look beyond the bells and whistles.
It's a shame the first non-Korean thing I review is not so good, but that seems to be a trend these days with my reviews. I seem to be breaking down with the amount of unfortunately wasted material I've been watching. It's more disappointing than wasting my time on just a piece of crap movie, because in this instance, and with many others that I've reviewed, it could have been good. Time Share really had the potential to be something, but it squandered it with a messy story, no development and a short run time. It's beautiful, mesmerising and captivating for 40 minutes maybe, but after its charm wears off, it reveals itself as a thinly veiled bad movie, dressing up as its cool older brother, surrealism.
3/10
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