Hank and Asha was one of my favorite movies from last year and as of TODAY it's now available on Amazon. Support independent film and support romantic comedies that don't belittle the genre.
With the benefit of modern technology, it feels like we’re
able to be in communication with anyone at any time. At this very moment, I can
use free technology to talk and see someone on the other side of the planet.
It’s a level of global intimacy that has never been available to mankind before,
where you can know someone better than you know anybody else…but you have never
been in the same city before.
Asha first heard of Hank when she saw his film at a festival
in Prague. Smitten by his talent, she decides to send him a video of
appreciation. When he receives the recording in New York, he returns the favor.
Then she responds. And he responds. And she responds.
What they create is something special. The entire film is
composed of these recordings they send each other with the titular characters
looking right into the camera as they imagine the one they care about on a
different continent. While a show like Peep
Show uses this device to bring the audience along into their spiral of
awkward destruction, Hank and Asha
uses it to make you part of the romance. We become even more invested because,
more than any other film, we feel that we’re in the room for their most sincere
moments—even though nobody technically is.
This experiment could have easily been a series of Skype
calls with the leads always moving a bit too close to their laptop camera.
Since both characters are enthusiastic documentary filmmakers, this allows
director James E. Duff to make every video they send each other to be more
visually dynamic. These are two people who want to depict their own individual
truths. So they create experiences that they can capture on film to share with
each other. This includes setting up the camera before they try the famous beer
from the Czech Republic for the first time or when they are at their most
emotionally confused, they press record so they can convey exactly what they’re
feeling when they receive surprising news.
Enough cannot be said about the two actors who have to carry
the film. Andrew Pastides and Mahira Kakkar never miss a beat for even a
millisecond. They have no one else to react to but the all seeing-lens and the
results are incredible. They control the frame with their expert understanding
of the characters as Pastides and Kakkar are able to portray all the emotions
the characters mean to put onto film and the ones they can’t hide. This gimmick
is incredibly challenging for actors and without them this could be an
unfortunate disaster. Instead, thanks to their charmingly perfect performances,
a beautiful vision and a wonderful script by Duff and Julia Morrison, this is
one of the most likable and rewarding romantic films in years.
