| The film City of Ghosts, cowritten and directed by Matt Dillon, appears to be a remake of The Third Man (1949), with a man arriving in a strange city to pursue something lucrative with someone notorious, but Dillon’s story is far more gruesome. In the early part of the film, a hurricane has devastated many homeowners in Florida, who had taken out hazard insurance policies. However, the insurance company has no money, so fraud has been committed. FBI investigators, on the trail of the company’s CEO Marvin (played by James Caan), interview Jimmy Cremming (played by Matt Dillon), an employee who plays dumb and then flies to Cambodia, where Marvin now resides. Jimmy is actually Marvin’s son, so he is not only after his payoff but also, if need be, to help his father. Upon arrival, Jimmy encounters a country that is filled with crooks, misanthropes, thieves, and only one good guy — Sok (played by Kem Sereyvuth). The latter is his cyclo driver, depositing him at his hotel, taking him to a dangerous rendezvous, accompanying him on various excursions, and twice saving his life. The females, in comparison, are saints, notably archaeologist Sophie (played by Natascha McElhone), who for some reason gets affectionate with Jimmy despite his association with those who are trying to make money in a lawless country, many by double-dealing. Marvin wants to set up a casino, a moneymaking venture that requires the kind of starting capital that he made from his insurance scam. However, the authorities have to be paid off, and the Russian mafia must be dissuaded from muscling into the project. Several die in the film, with no police in sight to try to solve the crimes; after all, they are implicated. At least Jimmy, Sok, and Sophie survive. In the background of the story is Cambodia itself. Although Dillon fell in love with the country, glitzy footage about the pristine countryside and the glory of the temples, as in Tomb Raider (2001), is not to be found in City of Ghosts. Quite the contrary (though the filmscore has some enjoyable Cambodian music). Instead, the cinematographic settings recall the surreal portrait of Vietnam in Cyclo (1995) and thus serve as an exposé of wretched poverty, desperate faces, the run-down condition of the capital city, dilapidated monuments, landmines in rural areas, and the apparent presence of ghosts of hose who were killed in wartime, yet another example of a devastated country that is not rebuilding itself adequately now that international headlines focus elsewhere. MH |