Dark Matter [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.4 Import - Australia ]

Australia released, PAL/Region 4 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: The title of "Dark Matter," a melodrama set in academia, is both a scientific concept and a blunt metaphor. Technically, it refers to a form of matter that makes up most of the universe but can't be directly observed. Applied to human affairs, it evokes the unconscious mind and the hidden, destructive forces within relationships. Specifically, the story, inspired by a tragic incident involving a Chinese student at the University of Iowa in 1991, addresses East-West cultural miscommunication. As one character muses, in China astrology is considered a science, and indoor plumbing a luxury. In the United States, visiting students are appalled to discover, many children put their aging parents in retirement homes rather than care for them as they would in China. "Dark Matter," directed by Chen Shi-Zheng from a screenplay by Billy Shebar, is a movie of ideas that does an exemplary job of translating scientific speculation into layman's language. The filmmaking style of Mr. Chen, an internationally renowned opera director (still best known for his 20-hour "Peony Pavilion" at Lincoln Center in 1999), is considerably more formal than American audiences are accustomed to. And that formality keeps you at a distance. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Sundance Film Festival, ...Dark Matter