A boarding house in Kuala Lumpur offers a temporary nesting place for an out-of-work reflexologist in Malaysian DV maestro James Lee’s marvelously deadpan third feature “Room to Let.” With its long static takes, minimal action and understated humor, “Room” recalls Tsai Ming-laing, except that Lee’s hero doesn't shut himself off as much, drifting in and out of his fellow boarders’ rooms for desultory, pause-heavy conversations. Lee’s DV opuses may have several laps to go on the fest circuit before surfacing theatrically or on cable.
Comments