InteReview: Comfort

24 May, 2017 William Eguizabal 0 Comments 1 category

Title: Comfort
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Director: William Lu
Starring: Chris Dinh, Julie Zhan, Michael Boucher
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

What It Is: Cameron (Dinh) is a nighttime courier for a driver service. Tonight Cameron has been tasked with picking up Jasmine (Zhan) the daughter of his companies most important client. Rather than the routine pick up and drop off Jasmine’s father has asked Cameron to entertain her. As they go through their night together they grow a little bit of a bond. For Cameron, the fact that the sun is down is a life an death prospect. You see Cameron is allergic to UV rays. They burn his skin in a way that could be potentially fatal.

What We Think: This is just a lovely film. Leads Dinh (who we had the pleasure of interviewing) and Zhan (Interview hopefully coming soon) have an adorable chemistry about them. Structurally it isn’t perfect but Lu’s script keeps everything within a little box and executes it well. Sure it sometimes falls into genre tropes but there’s enough charm to circumvent this slight issue. I think all of the acting was good and I really felt what Lu and his cast were going for. I like that this is a simple story of boy meets girl twisted slighty and delivered with a pinch of panache.

Our Grade: B, A really enjoyable little film and one I think everyone here would enjoy! I love its loving portrayal of Los Angeles which almost works like a character. A cupid of sorts to keep the plot and it’s characters together and moving. See the film that’s the best recommendation I can make. Especially if you’re a fan of RomCom’s like I am.

If you look below you’ll see our interview with director William Lu and star Chris Dinh. Two super dope guys nice enough to answer my stupid questions.

Interview with Writer/Director William Lu

Thanks for allowing me to interview you William!

The pleasure is all mine! Thank *you*!

– First I’d like to say that the film is really great! I’m a sucker for romance!

Thanks, the film, like me, definitely wears its heart on its sleeve.

– When crafting a film and having a main protagonist who is allergic to the sun how integral was good night time shot selection.

There is an awful lot of darkness and night cinematography.

I have to give a shout out to our wonderful director of photography Aashish Gandhi who did an exceptional job. Not only was I blessed with his great eye and skills, but we also were lucky because of the advances in camera technology. Our camera’s sensor was pretty sensitive so we could still get relatively clean images (not too much digital noise), despite working in night situations. We also used fast lenses (Zeiss Super Speeds) which also helped. End camera geek talk.

-There’s also a strong emphasis on the importance and healing power of food. Why, and what sort of foods are a comfort for you?

I just feel there’s something universal about breaking bread with someone and getting to know them. Also, good food like good art will have that “Ratatouille” effect and transport people. My comfort foods are Chinese noodles and dumplings.

– Whenever we get the pleasure of interviewing an artist about their art we often like to start by asking them about what inspired it. So since you wrote and directed this film what inspired it?

I went to Japan about 15 years ago and met a remarkable woman over there. I wanted to make a film that captured that excitement of meeting a stranger in a new city.

– What sort of films do you enjoy (no need to be specific) and if you want to go into what film means to you?

I like films with strong characters that have some aspect that I can strongly connect with. And I also enjoy films that take me someplace new, whether it’s a different land, time or culture.

– If you were stranded on a desert island and could only watch two films what would they be, and why?

Blade Runner and Heat. Because those films really transport me to a world that I would want to escape to if I was on an island!

– What’s next for you?

Writing another feature.

– Please tell people where they can find this wonderful film? Also where can they reach out to you (social media)?

We are on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon Video and Youtube! links here:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/comfort/id1198188490

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/movies/details?id=d_wldynFL8c

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N34PEQ8

youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_wldynFL8c

Social Media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/comfortfeature/

Twitter (film): @comfortthemovie

Twiiter (me): @will_lu

Interview with star Chris Dinh

– Thanks for allowing me to interview you Chris! (Possible response)

Thank YOU for taking the time to check out our film and for chatting with me!

– Chris you and your costar Julie (Zhan) had amazing chemistry! Had you worked together before? What would you attribute that to?

I believe our chemistry is a testament to our amazing acting skills because we could not stand the sight of each other! I am TOTALLY KIDDING of course.

The truth is… Julie is insanely in love with me and so that required no acting on her part at all. OKAY I’M TOTALLY KIDDING AGAIN!

The real truth is… we’ve been friends for many years before shooting COMFORT. We’ve also done a handful of sketches together on YouTube so that gave us a good foundation to stare lovingly at the other.

– You’re character Cameron has an allergy to the sun do you yourself have any allergies bonus points if they’re odd like Cameron’s.

I’m very grateful that I don’t have anything as serious as Cameron’s. I have found, recently, that I’m highly repelled by certain personality traits but they aren’t necessarily an allergy. Like negativity or close-mindedness. Ew.

– I’d mention William (Lu) that there’s a lot of nighttime cinematography in this. Is that something you enjoyed?

Yes, for several reasons. One, I think I just look better in darker environments. And that’s pretty much it.

But seriously, I liked it. I had just completed an indie horror-comedy and we were in a warehouse in the hottest week of the summer with no working AC. So getting to shoot something outside during the night time was very refreshing.

– What attracted you to this project?

Will had pitched me the log-line of the film over 8 years ago. Something in the setup and the simplicity of two people truly connecting just made so much sense to me.

– What sort of films do you enjoy (no need to be specific) and if you want to go into what film means to you?

I deeply enjoy any film that is life-affirming. Any story, really, about the indomitability and resilience of the human spirit. And I think that comes, partly, from our ability for storytelling. Film being one way to tell stories.

I once took an archeology class and there was a lot of talk about what tools allowed humans to be human. I have this theory that the most important development in human history was the ability to harnessed the power of story.

Pretty much, the moment we painted our stories on to cave walls, it was game over. We were destined to rule the planet. Hopefully we are nice about it and don’t destroy it.

– If you were stranded on a desert island and could only watch two films what would they be, and why?

I would watch GATTACA and CASTAWAY. It feels like those movies would give me what it takes to survive.

– What’s next for you?

Hopefully another project with Will. I’ve also been pitching a few digital projects and trying to get into the digital graphic novel space!

– Where can the people find you (online, social media)

You can find me RIGHT BEHIND YOU! Just kidding. For the tweets I’m @chrisdinh and for the grams I’m @chrisdinh.

– Thank you for giving us your time Chris

Thanks for the support! We really appreciate it!

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