Escape From Babylon/ Nick Attin/
T&T/ 2013/ Action-Thriller/ Rated R
Escape From Babylon, the first totally-local action feature-length flick to get a commercial showing in years, has all the elements of a crowd-pleaser: beautiful women in trouble, a tall, handsome hero to rescue them, and multiple fight scenes.Filmmaker Nick Attin said Escape was influenced by the 1976 US film Taxi Driver and one can see that.The lead character–cop-turned-taxi driver Randolph Briggs (Kearn Samuel)–takes an interest in a young prostitute, and the sometimes-seedy, sometimes-funny, sometimes-strange late-night character of a city is revealed through the protagonist's varied passengers and observations: Two young men ole talk and jocularly discuss girls on their way to a party, pedestrians jaywalk and jostle around vendors, long, beautiful shots show the lights and buildings of Port-of-Spain at night.The film gives a compelling depiction of the city.
But there were other apparent influences on Escape: A Hannibal Lecter-type serial killer–actually called Hector–played by Gregory Pollonais, targets young women. Briggs has a Bruce Wayne-like emotional distance from a city that he nevertheless feels compelled to protect.And then there are the elements that are not specific to one film but many: A withdrawn hero is unfairly penalised then ostracised, and a slightly zany but loyal partner/friend Mackie–wonderfully acted by Conrad Parris–continues to advise and support him.It's fascinating watching these elements rendered in T&T vernacular–with not an American accent to be heard. And no doubt this should be part of its appeal to local audiences.But selling dramatic presentations to local consumers is a dicey proposition, as can be seen in the miniscule number of dramatic plays produced in comparison to comedic ones. The last commercial T&T film released before Escape was the puppet comedy I'm Santana: The Movie, which did well.
Escape has not done nearly as well. It was pulled after a week at Cinemas 8 in Trincity Mall, where it opened on August 21.Cinemas 8 general manager Onika Ali-Aziz said a survey of people who saw the film found that most liked it.But its box office receipts weren't competing well with the American blockbusters, she said. She blamed the poor showing on inadequate advertising and promotion. The film also might have done better at a different time in the year, she said.The manager at the Empire Multiplex in San Fernando said the film "did very well." But it only ran for one week there as well.Director Nick Attin told a tale of unreturned phone calls and e-mails as he and his crew tried to bring radio and TV stations and investors on board for advertising and promotional appearances."It's been one of the greatest struggles. It's been very difficult," he said.
And despite Onika Ali-Aziz's words to the contrary, Attin believes there's a resistance to a locally made film from local audiences. He heard of cinema-goers exiting the theatre and demanding their money back, saying they didn't know it was local.He said he still has hopes for the film. He's trying to get it on the IMAX theatre and on screens abroad. He still plans to begin producing a sequel next year and is hoping to cast a "major Hollywood star," he said."We're going on," he said. "It's just tragic that our own home cast us aside. The rest of the world is waiting on us."So Escape from Babylon isn't as successful as the filmmakers would have liked. But it is an impressive achievement nevertheless when you consider the dearth of feature-length movies in the Caribbean and the small number of people who made the film with limited funding and equipment.Attin, who up until recently was a film student and had only done one feature film before, also co-produced the film and created the soundtrack.Escape was a much bigger undertaking than his more cerebral previous film, Little Boy Blue. The expectation is that he and Caribbean filmmaking will only get better.