Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

I will give my opinion first. This is the greatest film ever made with one proviso: I don't understand it. The failure to understand is, like the film itself, difficult to understand. As one watches, trying to get the gist, one first realizes that one is not understanding, next, that one is not getting the gist, next that you (not the change from one to you), are unlikely to ever understand it, next that I will never understand it, next that I do not even want to know what it is about. One thing I know for sure: the section on IMDB that lists "awards" fails to list "Best film Welles wrote about Redbud".

Cold Souls starts with a very odd, even silly premise and takes it as far as it will go, treating the outlandish story with perfect seriousness. As a result, the movie is more than just a goofy sci-fi comedy - although it has its funny moments. There are elements of humour, of tragedy, of suspense, and even some gangster action. The basic story: Paul Giamatti, playing a version of himself, is an actor who is struggling with negative emotions while preparing for a role in Uncle Vanya. In an effort to resolve these issues, he submits to a newly developed procedure which removes a person's soul, placing it in storage until wanted. He is relieved of strong feelings, but runs into unexpected problems trying to conduct his life as a soulless person. The situation is further complicated by a thriving black market for donor souls.Paul Giamatti's performance is definitely one of the best things about the film. I particularly enjoyed Giamatti rehearsing scenes from Uncle Vanya, first as his ordinary self; then as himself minus a soul; and finally, as himself with a donor soul from a female Russian poet. This is an entertaining movie overall. The plot is full of continual unexpected twists, some funny, some rather dark, and never becomes dull or predictable.

I've heard if you want to see an impression of an angry ferret, just tell director/writer Sophie Barthes that this movie reminds you of "Being John Malkovich". But rather than being annoyed at the comparison, she should accept it as high praise. Whether she intended it or not, there is no denying that the plot, theme, tone, city and even the cinematography is much like the aforementioned Kaufman masterpiece, and, like comparing "I Dream of Jeannie" to "Bewitched", there's no avoiding the thought. But, as with "I Dream of Jeannie", you should enjoy it on its own, especially in a world where such imaginative fantasies only cone along once in a blue moon.OK, enough of that. Let's talk about "Cold Souls". I won't bother telling you the plot, and I'd even advise against reading synopses. The beauty of surrealist cinema is the way it catches you unawares, challenges your notion of reality and surprises you with its absurdness. So the less you know, the better.I'll just tell you about the tone & presentation. This is very much a tongue-in-cheek comedy. Don't expect any big zingers or even any Woody-Allenish rambles (despite the director's statement that she was most inspired by Woody), because the comedy comes mostly from bizarre situations rather than dialogue or neurotic narration. In that respect, the film has a very European vibe, maybe like Godard's "Alphaville" or the Russian scifi comedy classic "Kin-Dza-Dza". By most Hollywood standards, this may seem like a slow movie. But even that, the director acknowledges in a funny scene where one character criticizes the hero's play for being "too Russian". This film is not afraid to make fun of itself, as all good surrealistic works should be able to do.I may be out of touch, but I had never heard of Paul Giamatti before this. He really delivered a great performance, intermittently playing the part of a great actor, a lousy actor, a great actor who's acting lousy, and a great actor who's acting lousy but temporarily infused with greatness. Yeah, it sounds confusing but it all makes sense in the film.I recommend this film, and if you like it I also recommend the obscure low-budget gem "Game 6" (about a murderously depressed playwright in NYC), "Angels in America" (a strange surrealistic comedy/drama about, of all things, AIDS), and of course "Being John Malk--" oh jeez here comes an angry ferret.

"Cold Souls" begins with possibly the best premise I have seen on film. It is fitting that screenwriter Sophie Barthes was nominated for Best First Screenplay from the Independent Spirit Awards. Paul Giamatti plays Paul Giamatti, an actor struggling with the weight of Checkov. Uncle Vanya is weighing down his soul. This is a problem afflicting most New Yorkers, but there is now a solution. A company can extract your soul and keep it in storage for you. Brilliant.The opening scenes offer some insightful humour and intelligent wit, and offers a fair number of laughs for everybody who immediately saw the comedy in the premise. David Strathairn and Giamatti have great interactions and are very funny, both together and on their own.The rest of movie, though, plays out like a dark mystery or thriller which doesn't really fit the wonderful comedic start. The main obstacle for our hero, and the thriller plot are significantly darker and melodramatic than I was expecting. Although it is titled "Cold Souls", I was hoping for less cold and more soul-fulfilling insightful humour.It is a dark comedy, so probably a must-see for fans of the genre. However, I think one of the problems with coming up with such an inventive idea, is viewers will likely form their own story line, so if it doesn't play out as you would have written it, it will seem disappointing and disjointed as it did for me. But that being said, the interest and intrigue behind this story would be too much to pass this up.