Dave Ash's sequel to 2021 -- TWIN CITIES -- to premiere at Film Invasion Los Angeles

Every so often, but far too rarely, TrustMovies views a new film by an unknown filmmaker that deserves a much wider viewing public than this little blog can manage to provide. Such as film was 2021 (click here for a review) and so, too, is the new sequel to that film -- TWIN CITIES -- by Minneapolis-based filmmaker David Ash. His new film, in fact, is even more ambitious in concept and execution than his earlier endeavor, though it is not quite as effective as 2021. It is still more than worth seeing, and I hope it will jump-start this "local" filmmaker to national prominence.

Mr. Ash, pictured at right, continues his tale of two oddball lovers, John and Emily, who met and tried to form a relationship in 2021. Now, they're married, she's expecting, and John -- as bi-polar and troubled as ever -- is about to discover something about his health that will change everything. Or not. What is real and what is not get quite the workout here, in terms of both what happens to our characters and the game the filmmaker is playing with us viewers. Not for nothing is Ash's movie titled Twin Cities. Yes, it takes place in the Minneapolis/St. Paul region, but its narrative, too, is broken into two distinct strands/sections that, while they play off each other, are also quite impossible to meld.

The first section/story seems to belong mostly to John (played again with amazing force and commitment by Clarence Wethern, above, left), the second to Emily (again, the equally committed and talented Bethany Ford Binkley, above right). It's wonderful to see them together again, playing off each other with such rapport and skill.

John, above, struggles with those same old demons (his mental state and a job that he is extraordinarily good at yet does not want to do), while Bethany, below and now pregnant, has written a best-seller and finds herself blocked concerning that second novel, which her publisher is anxiously awaiting.

In the movie's second section, all has changed, and rather drastically -- yet so many details are so similar but also exactly different. The parents in section one belong to John. In section two, they are Emily's -- with the major health issue transferred from one sex to the other. (That's "mom," played by Mary Beidler Gearen, below).

This splitting of the narrative into two strands is certainly interesting, but I do not think it adds anything to the characterizations, which proved much stronger in 2021. It may make us think and think again about some of the philosophical points raised by Mr. Ash (who both wrote and directed) concerning life, death, religion, faith, work, love and more, but I don't believe the use of twin narratives actually adds any more depth to the discussion.

It does give these actors plenty of opportunity to demonstrate their chops -- which they do. (That's Gabe Angieri, playing Dad, above.)  It also shows the filmmaker's wonderful rapport with those actors. He, along with his writing, draws such immediate, specific and emotionally compelling performances from his leads, which also include Peter Christian Hansen (below) as Emily's significant other in the second section, that scene after scene grabs you and does not let go.

Mr. Ash, along with his treatment thus far by the independent film establishment and its critics, brings up an interesting point regarding insider and outsider art. A film I covered earlier this week -- Matías Piñeiro's Hermia and Helena -- is a perfect example of "insider" art:  Piñeiro's work is beloved by insiders and the filmmaker, in his latest work, even uses many of these people in his film. His latest is too long and so thin that it practically disappears while unspooling. But his work has caught critics' fancy bigtime (mine included, at least where one of his earlier films is concerned).

Ash, on the other hand, living and working in Minnesota yet producing some masterful stuff, remains an outsider. Really now: It's time for a change. Maybe new exposure for Twin Cities will foment that change. Do you have to have already seen 2021 to appreciate Ash's latest film? I don't think so, although seeing them both can only increase your enjoyment and connections.

As I mentioned in the headline above, the movie premieres next month on June 11 in L. A.at Film Invasion Los Angeles. Click here for more information and/or here to purchase tickets.

Good news! This film is now 

(I'm adding this note in summer, 2018) 

available via Amazon Prime. 

Click here to access it.

Now Streaming: Brady Kiernan/Sam Rosen indie gem STUCK BETWEEN STATIONS

TrustMovies is very impressed with Sam Rosen. On the basis of having recently seen him in the new film, The Oranges (to be covered in a week or so) and then again the other night in a movie Rosen stars in and co-wrote (with Nat Bennett) -- STUCK BETWEEN STATIONS -- this guy seems like some kind of chameleon. Even though he doesn't look that different, I had no idea it was the same actor until I checked his bio of the IMDB.  Directed by Brady Kiernan, shown below, the movie is basically a whole lot of talking, accompanied by a lot of walking, interspersed with a few "incidents" that keep the plot a bit taut. But, ah, what talking this is!

Simply a rom-dram about two lost souls -- Casper and Rebecca, played by Rosen and Zoe Lister Jones -- who meet (oddly but not cutely) and then strike up a conversation that leads to something intimate and genuine, the movie never pushes for anything more than credibility. But because its two characters, particularly Casper, are so thoughtful, intelligent and worthwhile, we're eventually hooked and would, I think, follow these two anywhere. Having seen (and disliked) Ms Lister Jones in last year's Breaking Upwards, I am happy to report that not only did I enjoy her performance here, but I found her quite beautiful, too -- and could understand why Rosen's character had such a crush on her in high school.

As director, Mr. Kiernan mostly focuses on his two leads, following them and letting his camera move in on their graceful faces, as they try to connect and understand each other. The camerawork is as graceful as the performances, without giving us viewers any sense that we are intruding or that the camera is unduly pushing (the fine cinematography is by Bo Hakala). This shows the actors up to maximum advantage, while making the movie work beautifully.

Rosen's character is an enlisted man, home briefly from our current war, to bury his estranged father, while Lister Jones plays a young grad student involved with her advisor, whose wife has just found out about the affair. (Michael Imperioli plays the advisor, and his brief screen time is put to good use.)  Other than a not-quite burglary and a bar fight of which we see only the beginning, there's little incident. Yet for those of us who appreciate real characters and dialog so good it seems to hit that rare sweet spot between expert writing and improvisation, this is one swell movie.

Added bonus: Josh Hartnett (above), whom many of us always thought was a better actor than some of his films allowed, has a terrific little role here, as a liberal-unto-criminal friend of Caspar, who enjoys razzing his pal about his military service. Hartnett is aces, as is just about everything and everyone involved in this model independent, which was filmed in Minneapolis, where the story takes place, and in New York City. You can stream it now on Netflix, and elsewhere perhaps.