Wristcutters: A Love Story (2006)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Goran Dukic

Writers:

Goran Dukic (screenplay)
Etgar Keret (short story "Kneller's Happy Campers")

Release Date:

2 November 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

Life is a trip, but the afterlife is one hell of a ride.

Plot:

A film set in a strange afterlife way station that has been reserved for people who have committed suicide.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Death | Hitchhiker | Afterlife | Breakup

Awards:

9 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Patrick Fugit	...	Zia
Abraham Benrubi	...	Erik
Shannyn Sossamon	...	Mikal
Shea Whigham	...	Eugene
Leslie Bibb	...	Desiree
Mark Boone Junior	...	Mike (as Mark Boone Jr.)
Cameron Bowen	...	Kostya
Mikal P. Lazarev	...	Nanuk
Clayne Crawford	...	Jim
Tom Waits	...	Kneller
Chase Ellison	...	Kid Kostya
John Hawkes	...	Yan
Will Arnett	...	Messiah
Adam G.	...	Gas Station Attendant
Mary Pat Gleason	...	Eugene's Mother

Also Known As:

Pizzeria Kamikaze (International: English title) (informal title)
Pizzerija Kamikaze (Croatia)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and disturbing content involving suicide.

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA | Croatia | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | USA:R | Australia:R | New Zealand:R18 | South Africa:13L | Netherlands:6 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

No Matter Pictures

Trivia:

Eugene (Shea Whigham) isn't smoking pot throughout the film, he's actually smoking tobacco cigarettes. Actor Whigham noticed director Goran Dukic smoked loose tobacco and rolled his own cigarettes and carried it in a plastic bag, and said that's what he wanted Eugene to smoke.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Pouring a beer on electric guitar strings, even with the amp turned on, would be very unlikely to cause electrocution. There is no high voltage current on the guitar itself; about the only way to get electrocuted on stage is through faulty grounding in the sound system and stage set-up, and that would kill you, beer or no beer!

Quotes:

Kneller: Once upon a time there was a crooked tree and a straight tree. And they grew next to each other. And every day the straight tree would look at the crooked tree and he would say, "You're crooked. You've always been crooked and you'll continue to be crooked...

Movie Connections:

References Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)

Soundtrack:

Occurrence on the Border

Enlightening

Where do we end up when we die? What type of hell do we go to if we've "offed ourselves" as the characters in WRISTCUTTERS say? This fanciful movie opens with Fugit's character Zia organizing, cleaning, and straightening his room, readying himself for his death. In the blink of an eye, we see Zia's body on the floor of the bathroom, blood everywhere, and we're transported to a world which is hot, dull, endless, and sad. Zia discovers that everyone in this world has offed themselves, and the physical traits remain. Zia offed himself because of intense sadness caused by his girlfriend Desiree. He's befriended by Eugene, whose whole family is there. There days are filled with drinking, doing odd jobs, and trying to make the time pass. But Zia discovers that his girlfriend has committed suicide and he's on a mission to find her. With Eugene, they roadtrip ... to nowhere, searching for the woman and meet Mikal, who is also on a search, for the PIC: People in Charge. The film follows these characters as they search for something, someone to fill the void that they had when they were alive. The film is well shot with great music and tender moments. The only negative about the film is the writing. It would have been much more interesting to see an arc in Fugit's character, instead, it's rather straightline as everyone around him changes.