Indie Spotlight is a series focusing on reviews of independent films From director Michael L. Suan comes this modern silent noir, which portrays a gangster romance entirely without dialogue. AKP: Job 27 focuses on a Yakuza hitman (Tyce Philip Phangsoa), who travels to Toronto for his 27th job. While in the city, the hitman encounters a beautiful prostitute (Roxanne Prentice), who reignites repressed yearnings for a long lost love. However, as the two of them become closer, it might turn out that love can be the greatest enemy for a professional assassin. AKP: Job 27 is described as a “modern silent” film, which differentiates itself from traditional silent cinema in how the film is produced with the conscious effort to remove all dialogue from the plot of the film. What is left is a film that relies solely on the action, with the help of the sound effects and music, to tell its story. Quite obviously, the biggest challenge of AKP: Job 27 is to be a compelling feature-length narrative, without boring or confusing the audience. I have to admit that it did take a while for me to get accustomed to the plot of this film. The lack of dialogue in the film results in there being a lot of guesswork for the viewer, since you have to piece together who all the characters are and how they fit into the story. However, I found that the plot of the film really started to come together around the halfway point, at which point I really started enjoying this silent story for what it was. Much of the plot of AKP: Job 27 relies on music to help deliver the emotion of a scene, whether it be the film’s haunting theme or the many popular songs that play throughout the film. In fact, I would argue that the main turning point of the film for me was a scene where The Hitman encounters The Prostitute in a bar, with the song “In for the Kill” by La Roux playing in the background. While this scene, with its red lighting and silhouetted figures, comes dangerously close to music video imagery, the scene ends up being one of the key scenes of the film, which sticks in your memory after the final credits roll. Another such scene is the very end of the film, which is probably where the film is most successful in moulding the action on screen with the music, to express the emotions going on in the scene. In conclusion, while AKP: Job 27 is undoubtedly a little rough around the edges, it ended up being somewhat successful in creating a compelling narrative, without uttering a single word. 8 | LIKED IT AKP: Job 27 opens today in Toronto at the following locations:
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