I’m just here for the ride, I don’t mean anything I say’, says intelligent, elusive, conceited, cynical Nick to the beautiful Monie during a date that – again – gets completely out of hand. ‘Just get lost,’ she snarls at him. ‘Go back to your mother.’
Nick works as a sous-chef in a restaurant; he is good and he knows it. He thinks all the others are useless, and has hardly any respect for his boss, Wim. One day, an argument gets hopelessly out of hand in the kitchen, and Nick runs off with pretty young Croatian waitress Kristina, heading south to look for white truffles in the vast Croatian forests. And to find himself.
The third feature by Fow Pyng Hu (Jacky, Paradise Girls) is an intriguing combination of character study and road movie, with powerful performances by Merijn de Jong (Nick) and Marcel Hensema (Wim). The beautiful photography by Benito Strangio, especially the curious dream sequences, contribute to the special mood, as do the sound design and music. –IFFR
