Have you ever wanted to extract your soul from your body and freeze it in a glass container–perhaps sell it on the black market even? Yeah, me, too!
Cold Souls is a story of just that–the removal and illegal commodification of human souls by way of “soul trafficking.” The flick stars Paul Giamatti, who plays himself. Distraught over accurately depicting his character in a Chekov play, he decides, with the encouragement of his agent, to get rid of his burdened soul and put it into storage. The story gets juicy once he decides he wants it back, only to find it that it’s been stolen and trafficked to Russia!
Last week I went to BAM for a sneak preview screening of the dramedy, which included a Q&A with first-time feature filmmaker Sophie Barthes, cinematographer hubby Andrij Parekh, and Giamatti himself. Astra Taylor, the director of the recent doc, Examined Life, moderated the discussion.
Here are some highlights of the Q&A that won’t give the flick away:
-When asked which soul they’d love to possess if given the chance, Barthes and Giamatti both chose political figures. The director picked Henry Kissinger. Giamatti chose Winston Churchill.
-Barthes got her inspiration for the film from a dream she had when she was a little girl. (Not to give too much away, but in her original dream, it was Woody Allen (not Giamatti)…and yes, it was a chick pea.)
-Barthes isn’t so keen of critics insinuating she may be imitating director Charlie Kaufman–or any other director for that matter.
-Giamatti says he’s not good at improv, so the comic relief elements in the film went strictly by script.
-The soul extractor machine is symbolic of a ginormous vagina.
So is it worth seeing? I’d say ‘Sure.’ The film runs at a steady pace, and contrary to the way it’s being marketed, it’s generally melancholy in tone with comedic undertones. But the undertones resonate throughout the film, thanks to Barthes, who’s skillful at eliciting the two emotions from the audience. Ultimately, though, what carries the story is the enigmatic subject of the soul itself–and secondarily, the absurdity of transforming it into material form and “downsizing” it into an enterprise.
