Mark Watches ‘Ink’

This post is for Chad, who wanted to support me while I was on tour, so I agreed to watch an independent movie I’d never heard! I don’t often agree to watch films because it’s a bit of a logistical nightmare on my part, but lord, I AM SO GLAD I MADE AN EXCEPTION FOR INK.

The video file (and be warned it’s nearly 825MB) for Ink is available for download here, and all Mark Watches videos are now indexed in my Dropbox folder.

THIS MOVIE, Y’ALL.

  • There are certainly moments in Ink that make it look like an independent, low-budget production, and there are so few of those moments because HOLY SHIT, THIS FILM IS SO GORGEOUS. 
  • I love this set-up. I love that most of the exposition doesn’t happen until YOU’RE OVER AN HOUR INTO THE MOVIE. I love that you are left to just wonder what the fuck you are watching. And while the action – oh my god, the glorious, overwhelming, and chaotic action scenes – conveys the “sides” well, you still don’t get motivations for these characters right off the bat. It becomes even more complicated when you find out that this secondary dream world doesn’t function along a moral dichotomy. There are countless people and beings who exist in the fringes.
  • The costume design, the make-up, the special effects, the character design… whoever did all this? You’re all geniuses. This is a fully imagined world that’s a disturbing take on The Sandman and parallel universes while never being about either of those things.
  • HELLO, NONLINEAR STORYTELLING. I ADORE YOU.
  • HELLO, TIME TRAVEL. I LOVE YOU.
  • HELLO, PARALLEL UNIVERSES. YOU’RE MY EVERYTHING.
  • Oh my god, AND THERE’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. A whole lot of it! I admit that John’s story is heavy-handed. It’s not exactly one that leaves a lot of room for interpretation. John is a negligent parent caught up in the world of drugs, alcohol, and corporate capitalism. He is sucked away from his family and ignores his daughter after custody is handed over to her grandparents. He barely becomes interested when she slips into a coma! (That’s for other reasons, though, which become apparent nearly an hour later.) So his story of redemption, guilt, and forgiveness isn’t terribly new or surprising.
  • But that’s okay. And I mean that! I appreciate that this very personal and emotional journey is right in the middle of a surreal fantasy world of Storytellers and Incubi. The Incubi are some of the coolest villains I’ve ever seen in a fantasy story, y’all. I am so enamored with their design. OH MY GOD, THOSE WEIRD MIRROR SCREENS WERE THERE FOR A REASON. THEY DIDN’T JUST EXIST TO LOOK HORRIFYING.
  • This movie reminded me a lot of MirrorMask because it so firmly dropped you into this dream world.
  • I cannot believe I didn’t put two and two together and figure out Ink’s identity. My god, I totally fell for it, so that reveal at the end of the movie was INCREDIBLE.
  • JACOB IS GREAT. REALLY GREAT.
  • Just… how have I not heard about this movie??? It should be HUGE. It such an entertaining and unique experience, once that cares as much about its characters as it does for the visuals.
  • PLEASE TELL ME SOME OF YOU HAVE SEEN INK.

Thanks, Chad, for your patience in getting this done and for introducing me to one hell of a movie.

About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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