[KFCC] Spacked Out Review

Story: Cookie, Sissy, Banana and Bean-curd live Tuen Mun which is one of the new cities on the outskirts of Hong Kong. These four girls are the perfect example of rebellious youth, drug use and smuggling goods across the border are just some of the trouble they are into. Will these girls ever see the error of their ways and fix their lives or is a life of drugs and crime their only future

Review: I had no idea what to expect before seeing this movie, I had the vague notion that this was a movie about the messed up youth of HK. I was not ready to see what I actually did see, the main characters involved in all this trouble are just kids, the girls were between 13 and 16. This is the first movie I saw dealing with the Drugs/Sex/Crime theme with such young characters. With characters so young the movie has a much stronger impact, you can't help but think what are these stupid kids doing to their lives. As a commentary about self-destructive youth this movie succeeds very well since they spare few of the gory details.

In Spacked Out the story is more of a slice of life from the lives of these girls rather than a concrete story. A chain of events unfolds that gives you an insight into the broken lives of these girls. The first time I watched the movie I found it only so-so but after a second viewing I came to appreciate it little more. Most movies are meant to entertain you but there are those few movies that instead seek to deliver a message. Spacked Out is one of those few movies that have something important to say.

The cast of Spacked Out are all relatively newcomers, they put on a decent performance in playing their characters. After two viewing I did not find any of the characters really likeable, in fact a few of the main chars are even quite annoying. It takes a while to understand the characters in this movie, during the movie you are presented with the surroundings that these girls live in and how it affects their lives. Slowly you begin to understand a little more about them. The overall character development may be subtle but interesting if you pay close attention to it.

I found the entertainment factor to be kinda low, the story has no visible goal so during the movie things just happen from day to day. There were a couple of interesting scenes were the girls got involved in some shady business but for the most part just ordinary things were happening. In contrast to a generally ordinary overtone you had a few extreme topics mixed in, like self-mutilation or extreme drug use. There is one interesting scene near the end where the girls get involved in something that is way over their heads or then again it may be ordinary for them but it seemed like trouble on screen. The true key point to this movie is the characters and their lives, story and entertainment come in second.

I found Spacked Out to an interesting film, it may not have been exciting but it gave us a different view of Hong Kong society that we have not seen before. One thing is sure that this movie does not glorify the drug/crime lifestyle, it portrays it in a very dim and brutal light. This is a movie that is meant to make you think rather than entertain you, if you are looking for something really different and a view on corrupted society then this might interesting you. If you need an action packed story then please stay clear of this movie.