A Movie You Might Have Missed #44: Ink

It's been 11 years since I began this series highlighting movies I wished more people knew about. I'm rerunning it from the beginning because I still think these are movies you might have missed.

The power of dreams is stronger than you think.

As the light fades and the city goes to sleep, two forces emerge. They are invisible except for the power they exert over us in our sleep, battling for our souls through dreams. One force delivers hope and strength through good dreams; the other infuses the subconscious with desperation through nightmares.

John and Emma, father and daughter are wrenched into this fantastical dream world battle, forced to fight for John's soul and to save Emma from an eternal nightmare. Separate in their journey, they encounter unusual characters that exist only in their subconscious. Or do they?

This is actually a movie that almost everyone missed. I know I did. I never heard of it until Mom showed me the dvd. Intrigued by the description, she'd had it for a long time and hadn't watched it. It has a slow start (just let the first 20 minutes wash over you) but then the story pulls you in. We both found ourselves emotionally invested by the end of the film and talked about it through dinner afterward.

Part of the slow start is necessary to explain the world you are dropped into. The story is ultimately a tale about free will, how our choices affect those around us, and, ultimately, the power of love. I also really appreciated that this was made on a shoestring ($250,000) and the way they managed locations and special effects without affecting the otherworldliness of the film. Lastly, I liked the storyline effects with different color themes telling us whose eyes we were seeing through. The filmmakers did a good job with telling an inventive story in a way that kept us engaged.