The Bolings' MOVEMENT + LOCATION: sci-fi sans special effects but w/intelligence + spirit

I don't believe you hear the word "immigrant" mentioned once in the course of the new movie MOVEMENT + LOCATION -- which opened last week in New York City and will open next week in Los Angeles -- but you surely will better understand the immigrant experience once you view it. Oddly enough, this is also one very special science-fiction movie, completely lacking in special effects yet amazingly able to pull you into the world of its protagonist heroes, who are immigrants of a rather special nature. They're time travelers plopped down in present-day NYC.

TrustMovies has probably already given away too much of the plot, for part of the fun of the film lies in how slowly and sparingly it lets go of its -- and its characters' -- secrets. Beautifully acted by the entire well-chosen cast, written (by Bodine Boling, shown below, who also stars) with a tender specificity regarding each of the several characters on view, and directed quietly but confidently by Alexis Boling (pictured at right and husband to Bodine), Movement + Location proves a wonderful example of what can be accomplished by independent filmmakers on a tiny budget with a lot of intelligence and imagination.

The movie is also a kind of rom-com-drama, love story (a couple of them, actually), and a case study in how to get along when you're homeless. That it handles successfully every theme and situation it touches is further testament to its surprising, oddball success.

The story involves Ms Boling as Kim, our primary time traveler, pining for her lost love who evidently did not make it across the big barrier. Also on hand are a local cop, who falls hard for our "immigrant" (well played by Brendan Griffin, above, right),

as well as a sweet teenager (Catherine Missal, above) who is parented by just about all concerned but has her own important agenda, and another homeless man named Paul (David Andrew Macdonald, below), who has, among other skills, a terrific way to scam his fellow citizens (but for a very good cause).

Add to the mix Kim's caring, kindly boss (Haile Owusu) and her roommate (another spot-on performance from Anna Margaret Hollyman, and you have an expert cast giving on-the-nose performances that bring to fruition all that the writer and director hope to achieve.

Movement + Location is a surprise in a number of ways. If you don't catch it in theaters, at least add it to your Netflix queue. It opened this past Friday, September 18, in New York City at the Cinema Village, and will open in Los Angeles on Friday, October 2, at the Arena Cinema. If you're not located near either of these cities, don't despair: The Bolings' film is available online now (via iTunes, VHX) and on Verizon FiOS VOD. Click here to see the links.