Charlotte Sometimes

A tribe of young Asian-American Los Angelinos may or may not be sad and lonely and may or may not be in love with one another in Eric Byler's Charlotte Sometimes, an arty, jazzy film in which characters sit, and stare, and turn away from one another instead of talking (it's all about the silences). I, who may or may not be hopelessly plebian, found it all nicely photographed and acted but ultimately wondered--no "may or may not" about it--what the point was. "It's a portrait," the cinemarati will say, or "a mood piece," but why couldn't these people all be sad and lonely and in love (or not) while robbing a bank or finding the lost ark of the covenant or saving Earth from invading aliens or something? Lacking adventures (not to mention witty, or even simply funny repartee), everyone here just mopes; but life is mopey enough without our movies being mopey, too. I'm sure the garage door opener thingie is very symbolic of something, but still. Optional. (M. Johanson)