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All Aboard for Weird Minded – Review on Drug Train

It’s a mixture of footage with little to no plot. I’ve had my fair share of these during my first year of VIFF when I bought an all-access pass and used it to watch as many movies as possible. It’s hard to find something like this. But once in a great while, I came across these kinds of films. Some play out like it’s supposed to be a dream or even weirder. Some make no sense whatsoever and leave me wondering if I just watched some disturbing content that got picked up from the cutting room floor? 

Often times the weirdest stuff I see is made by somebody local or maybe something from Montreal. This feature was from Bijan Karim and while there wasn’t much to plot, it felt like a typical day in Vancouver with typical Vancouverites who I have socialized with from time to time. 

We are brought into the life of Alberto (Alden Doyle) who lives most of his life alone and enjoys life as he consumes drugs while messing around the area of Vancouver. Who HASN’T done that under the influence when in Vancouver? Even though Alberto is a loner who stays detached from society, he has lots of cool and unique friends. We see him interact with these friends such as Nathaniel (Nathaniel Von Vossen) who has a passion for painting and a twisted sense of humour, Abbey (Abigail Markowitz) who has a passion for both Alberto and the beach, K-man (Kirk Wilson) who is an expert on all things of life, and Evan (Evan Hardenburger) who has some talent in music. Throughout the film and many interactions, Alberto and his pals talks about interesting topics such as the effects of ADHD pills, consciousness, living life to the fullest, and what time really is.

There’s no consistency to the whole thing, but it makes you feel like you’re there in Vancouver. The discussions sound pretty genuine when it comes to stoner conversations or conversations amongst Vancouverites in general without some strange plot about time travel in Vancouver, or abrupt silliness. If you were to describe this movie, you’d just say Vancouver, not because of the people involved, but we see lots of locations in Vancouver. From the city streets, to the elevated skytrain tracks, and even some locations in Downtown Eastside. Anyone who dares film something down there is pretty brave in my opinion. It takes tactic given the residents in that area. With some shots stationary and most of them moving, it can be a bit inconsistent and confusing but adds to the vibe of being there. A film that gives a true feeling of home, if you live in Vancouver, that is.

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