I Come with the Rain

I feel for Tran Ahn Hung (Norwegian Wood). I Come with the Rain was meant to be his international break-through. An ambitious Pan-Asian production (featuring Hollywood star Josh Hartnett in one of the lead roles) that should've landed him a sizeable audience. But the film disappeared off the radar completely. Production problems, with Tran eventually distancing himself from the final cut damned the film to a lackluster DVD release, only picked up by Tran's most hardcore fans. To make things worse, the film is quite the departure of Tran's earlier work, so even they didn't like what they saw.

Though production-wise I Come with the Rain was a complete disaster, the film itself is actually quite good. It's perfect material for a cult revival, though its relative obscurity and the apparent lack of incentive to pick it up (Tran's popularity has waned the past couple of years) will probably prevent that from happening. If you're not a zany Tran adept though and you're looking for something peculiar to watch, I Come with the Rain is actually a pretty safe bet. It's not without faults, but its perks more than make up for them.

The cast alone should merit some extra interest. There's Hartnett and Koteas drawing in the Hollywood crowd, but Tran also went actor-shopping in several high-profile Asian countries. Takuya Kimura, Byung-Hun Lee, Shawn Yue and Tran Nu Yen-Khe make for a nice international ensemble. You have to put up with some stilted English dialogues because of that, but the language barrier makes sense, seeing that most of the actors are from different countries anyway.

The story revolves around a private detective (Hartnett) trying to find Shitao (Kimura), the son of a wealthy businessman. The film is split in two, one part focusing on Hartnett's past and the other focusing on Shitao's adventures. For a Tran film, things get pretty weird and intense, with Kimura portraying some kind of Jesus figure who can take away the pain of others and Hartnett having to deal with a human body parts sculptor.

Visually Tran put his mark on the film, with dreamy visuals and nice camera work. The soundtrack is less pleasing, but that's probably because I'm not much of a post-rock fan. Featuring bands like Radiohead and Silver Mt. Zion is not a plus in my book, even then the soundtrack could've benefit from a more subtle approach.

I Come with the Rain may be a tough sell if you want to market it to a broader audience, but there's a very unique and mysterious vibe that should appeal to people looking for something different. From the crazy sculptures (not unlike the artwork of Rubber Johnny artwork) to the interesting cast and challenging story structure, there's enough here to warrant 2 hours of your time.