Fix (Tao Ruspoli, 2008): USA

Shot in the first person, Tao Ruspoli loosely reenacts a memorable and wild trip through Los Angeles in order to get his brother to rehab. Fix, Shown at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, was an original film experience all together for me. This documentary-style film captures the greater Los Angeles area in its entirety. The photography is exceptional for a picture completely filmed with a handheld camera. There are a number of unique and unusual shots and visual tactics used my Raspoli, making this film worthwhile and interesting.

Beginning at 5:20 am, Milo (Tao Ruspoli), picks his brother Leo (Sean Andrews) up from jail in Calabasas. The destination being a rehab in Anaheim by 8:00 pm (a substitution for a prison sentence.). Accompanied by Milo’s girlfriend, Bella (Olivia Wilde), the two plan to record the entire trip in order to make a documentary on the topic at hand. After a stop by Leo’s attorney, they discover they lack the necessary five thousand dollars needed to enter the rehab. Leo leads them on a very entertaining hunt for the money beginning in Calabasas, traveling through Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Venice, eventually all the way down to Watts. The diversity of neighborhoods and people is almost as vast at the number of shots and visual techniques. The trio is later joined by Leo’s “not-really girlfriend” Carmen (Megalyn Echikunwoke). It is Carmen who introduces the hilariously ironic but potentially helpful plan of selling Marijuana to raise the money for rehab.

The movie essentially lies in the performance of Leo. His charming attitude and outlandish, impulsive behavior make him an incredibly likeable heroin junkie. He is as persuasive as he is likable, continuing to find ways to get high throughout the day. Ruspoli provides wonderful insight on not only what it means or what it takes to fix a person, but to fix anything. There is a segment while the three of them are traveling around downtown, and they pass by what’s left of the urban farm in south ventral Los Angeles. The story is tragic and thought provoking. What could have been done to save this land? Who is responsible for the destruction of it? The scene is accompanied with incredible photography capturing the juxtaposition of the open landscape with the urban scenery.

The compilation of music for Fix, is almost as perfectly eclectic as the narrative and small collection of characters. Raspoli has managed to pull of a quality film with a miniscule budget that I would recommend seeing to anyone interested. Especially to those with a taste for documentaries or other nonfiction.