Cold Souls

Director:
Sophie Barthes

In the midst of an existential crisis and after intense rehearsals of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, Paul, a famous American actor, has an emotional collapse. He stumbles upon a "Soul Storage", a private lab offering New Yorkers something quite intriguing: a relief from the burden of their souls. Paul decides to get rid of this "unbearable weightiness of being" and gets his soul extracted only to discover that it has the shape and size of a chickpea. After a difficult attempt to live a soulless life, he rents an alleged Russian poet's soul, which guides him into a strange oneiric world. Things take an unexpected turn when he discovers the existence of a Russian soul trafficking syndicate...

Awards & Festivals: Sundance 2009, Sydney 2009, Sitges 2009, Best Actor (Paul Giamatti) - Karlovy Vary 2009, Hamburg Film Critic Award

Screenings
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Director:
Sophie Barthes
Cast:
Paul Giamatti
David Strathairn
Emily Watson
Dina Korzun
Country:
SUA
Running time:
12h:00m
Section:
TIFF Edition:
2010