Backgammon (2001) User Reviews

Interesting idea badly executed

[punklantern · 3/10 · 24 September 2006]

This is a film in which the end of the world is imminent, the situation is publicly announced, and civilization promptly falls apart. Rampant pollution will cause the Earth to explode, and has made all grown food inedible. With no food sources, people attempt to survive by banding together and scavenging for existing supplies. A corporation has developed a new kind of food called "designed food" for distribution among the riotous masses and the few faithful to civilized ways, but the new foodstuff holds a terrible secret (which you will no doubt figure out long before the movie tells you.) The story has potential, but bad acting, dialogue, sets, and the obvious extremist bias of the filmmakers make this not worth watching, except for unintentional comedic value. The nonexistent budget doesn't even rise to the level of a concern when determining this movie's quality.

Two bad movies for the price of one

[MBunge · 3/10 · 23 February 2011]

Backgammon is like two movies in one…and they both suck. It's like writer/director Ziri Rideaux has a split personality; one excited and stupid and the other exhausted and slightly less stupid.

The film starts out as an absurd farce about the end of the world where quietly desperate bank manager Maia (Wendy Braun) ends up stuck with her punky sister Zorro (Angela Marsden) and a collection of hippie-slacker-douchebags in a rundown flophouse that looks like a bomb exploded in it. This part of the movie is full of painfully unfunny comedy and college freshman level BS about the evils of capitalism and the common man.

Then the forced irreverence sloughs off and a low-budget, low-brainpower take off on Soylent Green emerges and seeps across the screen like spilled jam. There's a bunch of overwrought crap about individual choice and responsibility and "selling out to The Man" and it's all much less energetic and much more plot-driven than the earlier mess.

There's very little to say about Backgammon and what there is, isn't good. Ziri Rideaux the writer hasn't figured out that putting a bunch of vaguely related stuff down on the page isn't the same thing as telling a story. Ziri Rideaux the director doesn't understand that you can't make things dramatic, funny or even interesting just by pointing a camera at them. Most of the actors are bad and the ones that are good look like animals locked up in a cage where you just want to set them free.

Backgammon is yet another worthless production where somebody gets their hands on a camera and a couple of credit cards and thinks that makes them a filmmaker. Newsflash - It doesn't.

There's really nothing of value here at all. There are more aggressively annoying movies out there, but few that are as wholly pointless.

A must see

[behrooz2000 · 9/10 · 30 January 2013]

The end of civilized world has come; basic resources are now out of the human population's reach. This a futuristic story about technology advancing so much that it poisons the Earth's entire environment; sources of food are completely polluted. There is one corporation that invents a new, yet gruesome type of food, which causes a big problem for humans. Now, there is a question for humanity-- how far are we willing to go to stay alive a little more than others? A Sci-Fi story portrayed comically, Backgammon has a strong, interesting, and humorous plot recommended for anyone who enjoys post apocalyptic, science fiction, and/or futuristic movies. Although Backgammon is a small budget movie, the story is very original and captivating. My understanding about the game Backgammon is that it requires critical decision making, and it's all about how we roll the dice. The way we use the numbers makes all the difference. This movie shows that our lives are just like Backgammon, we don't know what's going to happen next-- it's up to how we play each hand.

Very clever satiric film.

[rebvenice · 9/10 · 8 February 2013]

Wonderfully inventive and clever film which is masterfully directed despite the incredibly low budget. It has a lot to say about our society, specifically about our attitudes regarding the work we do and the food we eat. Raw but emotionally powerful. It speaks volumes about our consumer society. Kind of a European leftist bent politically, but with ideas and values which are very relevant today still. The acting is quite good, although many of the actors remain under the radar. The writing is polished and entertaining. The writer/director will almost certainly be heard from again. I look forward to her next project. Put me down as a fan.

Great experience working on this project

[gerardthree-1 · 8/10 · 6 February 2013]

There is no hiding that I played one of the characters in this little indie. I find that a behind the camera review is as important as a viewers perspective. This film was one of my first. It was special and a great bar to set when it comes to real gorilla filmmaking. The subject matter when re-watching now is more relevant today. With the battles going on with GMOs and the world getting overpopulated, it rings. There was next to no budget, but I can say first hand, it felt better working on this location than some of the higher budget sets I have worked. If you get past the lack in CG, you will see a critically important topic being addressed.

Double 6's!

[hire-me123 · 8/10 · 11 February 2013]

Just caught this film on Netflix and I have to say it was worth the viewing. The film centers around a diverse group of individuals banding together to survive in a world that is on the brink of self destruction. The idea of the world's end is not a new one, but how we choose to conduct ourselves with choices that must be made seem seldom explored and the study that the writer/director has chosen to examine. Well directed and beautifully shot, I found the gritty look of the film a perfect punctuation to the filmmakers view of a society that is in it's final throws of it's decline. Thought provoking, humorous, sad, and ultimately unflinchingly optimistic, I found Backgammon to be a great allegory to what present day society could become. Praise all around, independent film lives!

philosophical and entertaining

[arianekos · 10/10 · 6 February 2013]

How often does a movie manage to master all aspects of the 7th art while always serving the plot? The photography is gorgeous, rhythm and music riveting, characters complex (even the women, thank you!), human and attaching, propelling you into this eerie atmosphere and forcing you on tiptoes in this sensuous, psychological tale about hunger in all it's forms that manages to be as entertaining as it is philosophical. An initiation. And 11 years later, it's quite bewildering how prophetic it is about our society's fetishes and qualms. That's a quality shared only by top level sci-fi (no I really don't get some of the other reviews). One of those few movies that stay with you and make you a better human.

Ironic film with some great moments

[plpendleton · 10/10 · 7 February 2013]

A true indie film here, with a lot of passion and heart. Obviously shot on a low budget, this little piece of cinema takes on big issues and some dark comedy. Its intention is to get its audience to start using their brains and thinking "on their own". We are taken on a journey of how all sections of society deal with the subject of "hunger" and the end of the world in an odd, eerie and truly ironic story format that I find is meant more as a dark comedy. A quirky little piece in my estimation that definitely takes so twists and turns. As for the cast, I found that overall, they are mostly talented actors, particularly the dramatic scenes. Again, a lot of passion in trying to get a point of view across. Kudos.