RATING: A
 
After making a list of fascinatingly simple and moving short 
films, including Color Blind, Shervin Youssefian
explodes onto the Hollywood scene with this superb low-budgeter 
that combines film noir with comedy with thriller and manages to 
still come out as a believable contemporary work of art. The 
film weaves in and out at a lighting pace and you’re out of the 
theatre before you can release your breath. "The film was packed 
with twists and humor and it felt more like a 30 minute film 
because of its pace than the hour and a half film that it is," 
says Alberto Finna, one of the enthusiastic viewers at a test 
screening.
 
Machiavelli Hangman had been buzzing around the internet circuit 
as the to-beat film of 2006 despite its incredible low-budget 
of 150k. In a year that produced such major studio films like 
Batman Begins, War of the Worlds and later Superman Returns, it 
is refreshing to see that there are smaller films that get some 
breathing time.
 
Interestingly enough, Machiavelli Hangman is very much like the 
popular Crash that starred a list of A-listers like Sandra 
Bullock, Don Cheadle and Matt Dillan. These types of films that 
tell multiple stories at once and let the audience focus on more 
than one subplot are becoming increasingly popular because of 
their interactive value. "Finally, Hollywood is starting to 
produce films that have something to say and leave a lot of it 
for us to interpret," adds Finna.

Memento surprised many studio executives who had doubts about its 
performance at the box-office when it gained momentum and was 
head to head with the bigger honchos that year. The doubts were 
understandable about Christopher Nolan’s arthouse film because 
Memento doesn’t have the conventional narrative style as most 
films. The editor of the film who was later that year nominated 
for an Oscar chose to present the film backwards. This was a 
technique that was never attempted before, out of fear of losing 
the audience’s attention.

Another arthouse film that enjoyed much success with audiences 
domestically and abroad was David Lynch’s much acclaimed 
Mulholland Dr. that many believe is a twisted adaptation of 
Disney’s Alice in Wonderland. The film won Lynch a Director’s 
Award at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an 
Academy Award for screenwriting.

Modern filmmakers seem to be catching on to the trend and they 
are offering more material to think about to the audience, 
instead of simply chewing the information and feeding it to the 
moviegoers. Audiences are getting smarter and the films have to 
keep up. 

Patrick Aleezada is a movie reviewer. He has giving 
a Rating of "A" to the upcoming movie release called,
Machiavelli Hangman (http://www.hangmanmovie.com).