Attending the Cleveland International Film Festival is an adventure. Inherent in adventures are risks.For example, if you take a wild plunge into the stock market, you may hook up with Bill Gates in the startup days of Microsoft; however, you may also sign up with Bernie Madoff toward the end of his Ponsi scam. If you go on an African safari, you may return with wonderful memories and ancient artifacts or an exotic foot fungus.
The Market - A Tale of Trade falls into the Bernie and fungus column. A movie like this is dangerous territory for first-time attendees, because if this is your first experience at the film festival, it may well be your last.
The film started very slowly, then slowed down. The Turkish setting was more despressing than your 401(k). The glacial pace had zero drama.
The plot was nonexisitant, with just a hint of a story about smuggling some medicine for a hospital (it did not help to have the valuable medicine look like a refilled 7-up bottle). The expressionless protagonist basically drove around ugly cities in a beat-up red pick up looking for things to trade. Occasionally, he climbed out of the truck to get drunk.
Through the years, many of the films at the film festival that I did not like managed to entertain me on some level. I can amuse myself with the landscape, the film techology, the exotic language or countless other sideroads. However, The Market – A Tale of Trade, did not give me much to work with.
— Bob Carson
Friday, March 20, 4:40 p.m.; Saturday, March 21, 2:10 p.m. Germany, UK, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Subtitles, 93 minutes
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