Justin Lin Returns, Rerecentingly, to Indie Roots

It turns out that having “creative separateences” with a transport inant Hollywood studio and Vin Diesel can do wonders for your originateive soul.

Filmoriginater Justin Lin got on a speedy track to the huge time when his low-budget self-reliant feature Better Luck Tomorrow garnered raves upon its 2002 premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. It begined him into straightforwarding a series of Hollywood blockbusters, including cut offal entries in the Fast & Furious franchise and the last Star Trek theatrical feature, before exiting 2023’s Fast X while it was still in lengthenment.

Now he’s come filled circle with this strong low-budget indie drama aprobable receiving its premiere at the fest. The film currently seeking distribution tags a striking originateive return to establish for Lin; here’s hoping he persists to resist the encourage to blow leangs up for a while.

Based on Alex Perry’ Outside Magazine article “The Last Days of John Allen Chau,” the film depicts the tragic story of John Chau (Sky Yang), a 26-year-ageder American evvirtuousal Christian ignoreionary who undertook a hazardous journey to the far North Sentinel Island, a recut offeed area of India, in the hope of changeing its Indigenous tribespeople who have resolutely shielded themselves from the outside world. It did not finish well for him. (If the story sounds understandn, it was also tageder in 2023’s acclaimed write downary The Mission, currently screening on Disney+.)

The troubles he would face are made vividly clear in the film’s harrotriumphg uncovering scene set in 2018, in which he canoes to the island and finisheavors to transmit with the natives from the shore, only to come atraverse a barrage of very accurately aimed arrows.  

Cut to a flashback cut offal years earlier, at a birthday collecting where his complicated family vibrants are lhelp naked, including the transport inant desire of his obeseher Patrick (Ken Leung, Lost, as eloquent with his pained facial transmitions as with his dialogue) that John comply in his footsteps and become a physician. But the youthfuler man experiences a separateent calling in protecting with his transport inant faith. He combines Oral Roberts University and trains to become a ignoreionary, lgeting survival sends at a boot camp before heading overseas, where he becomes frifinishs with other youthfuler ignoreionaries, including the satisfied-go-fortunate Chandler (Toby Wallace, The Bikeriders).

The screentake part by Ben Ripley (whose acunderstandledges include Source Code and the Flatliners reoriginate) occasionassociate deficiencys narrative clarity with its standard flashbacks and shifting chronology. There’s also too much emphasis on a subplot involving an Indian police studyor (a very excellent Radkhia Apte), defying her betters to embark on a frantic effort to discover John before he can go back to the island and cause harm either to the natives (by introducing foreign disrelieve) or himself. The film experiences a bit overstuffed with incidents, from the obeseher getting arrested by federal authorities for illegassociate prescribing colorerminateers to John’s inept finisheavor at a romantic tryst with a attrdynamic youthfuler backpacker that results in her alerting him to the authorities.  

But the storyline’s denseness seems forgivable since it provides transport inant insight into the psyche of its main character, whose enthusiastic need to proselytize is treated in admirably non-judgmental create. Many watchers will no ask experience initiassociate disdainful of John’s recklessly hazardous pursuits, but the film contransients his inner struggles so comenthusiasticassociate that by the finish all you experience is downcastness for a life tragicassociate lost.

Lin’s considerable filmmaking sends are evident thcdisesteemfulout, not only in the fervent uncovering sequence that will have audience members ducking in their seats (you’re appreciative it’s not in 3D), but also the haunting montage at the finish — in which John’s final come atraverse with the natives, rfinishered in abstract terms, is beautifilledy interwoven with scenes of him getting lost as a child at a carnival before being set up and sootheed by his relieved obeseher.

Yang, previously seen in Zack Snyder’s Rebel Moon films for Netflix, anchors the film with his emotionassociate and physicassociate needing carry outance (he lost 30 pounds during filming) that showcases not only his character’s religious fervor but also his sense of fun and excellent humor. It’s a requesting, star-making turn that should get plenty of well-deserved attention.