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Rating: 3.2/5
Review: "In the room movie review"

"A decent arthouse film that may only appeal to fans of Eric Khoo."

Arthouse local director, Eric Khoo, is back with a controversial film. Surely, its awareness increased when Eric refused to edit for the classified rating, R21. It is apparent that the version, that will be shown in local cinemas, is cut. The uncut version is only shown in film festivals and probably in Hong Kong too.

The story: It is no surprise that sex takes up the bulk of the film. In the six stories, sex is the main theme. But do not let the racy theme deter the viewing. Eric, being an artistic director, serves more than just a titillation piece. He plays with emotions and thankfully knows when to end each story. Each story varies in runtime. The shortest story must the first one, in English, where a talk between two men leads to a surprising twist of love. It moves on to a funny second story, in Cantonese, that is the most outstanding due to its playful and bright tone. It is about a lesson of empowering men during sex. The third story returns back to Eric's comfortable territory, an artistic piece about a ghost and romance. It is meant to be a tribute to Damien Sin. The fourth story, in Thai, sees the last meeting between two guys before one of them goes for a sex change. The fifth story, in Japanese and English, is where the film earns its rating. AV actress Shou Nishino bares her body as a wife who sleeps with a young man. Their sex meetings eventually lead to love. The last story, in Korean, is about two Korean best friends having humorous sex talks that represent the younger generation.

Eric tries a different style for each story. Although he still relies on lengthy dialogues, he is smart enough to keep the scenes strangely interesting and humorous at time. The mood for each story differs but most of them still contain his usual dour and moody style. Acting ranges from good to alright. Music is off beat at some point but is still serviceable for Eric's style.

Overall: It is for Eric's fans. I can see it not appealing to mainstream audience. The artistic style of grainy and sharpness of the picture may be a turn-off to viewers who spend $12 and expect crystal clear quality on big screen. Understandably, the style fits the period of time. For Eric's fans, it is alright to catch on big screen. For others, small screen should suffice.

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