Monsoon is a nuanced, beautifully shot character study.
The basic premise is simple, chronicling the story of a man who journeys home after a family bereavement, in an attempt to reconcile with his past - coming to terms with the loss he's suffered since leaving Vietnam - meeting another kindred spirit in a chance encounter that results in a blossoming romance between the two. Thus, from that pain, love grows - & in the one place he'd avoided, he now has a reason to stay.
It's slow & intentionally ponderous, wandering through the labyrinthine streets in a dreamlike trance - enhanced further by director of photography Benjamin Kracun's aesthetic which captures the film through a watchful lense, following our lead with a patient sense of natural observation, mirroring his perspective of reality.
Hence, we begin the film as lost & lonely as Kit is in his own mind, grounded amongst the bustling vehicles & rushing pedestrians - but as the narrative progresses & his feelings for Lewis grow stronger - the cinematography poetically conveys how eventually they find their way above the chaos, lifting each other out of the dark & in to tranquility, safe in each other's company.
The basic premise is simple, chronicling the story of a man who journeys home after a family bereavement, in an attempt to reconcile with his past - coming to terms with the loss he's suffered since leaving Vietnam - meeting another kindred spirit in a chance encounter that results in a blossoming romance between the two. Thus, from that pain, love grows - & in the one place he'd avoided, he now has a reason to stay.
It's slow & intentionally ponderous, wandering through the labyrinthine streets in a dreamlike trance - enhanced further by director of photography Benjamin Kracun's aesthetic which captures the film through a watchful lense, following our lead with a patient sense of natural observation, mirroring his perspective of reality.
Hence, we begin the film as lost & lonely as Kit is in his own mind, grounded amongst the bustling vehicles & rushing pedestrians - but as the narrative progresses & his feelings for Lewis grow stronger - the cinematography poetically conveys how eventually they find their way above the chaos, lifting each other out of the dark & in to tranquility, safe in each other's company.