阴阳路2：我在你左右

 舞厅皇后徐亚芳，不知盗窃“991秘方”的离异丈夫将它藏在口袋中屡招杀身之祸，在刘科长的保护下，徐亚芳脱离险境，重返舞台。

　　Fraught with over obvious symbolism, Hartley's early feature is nonetheless a joy to watch. Hal here shows us his uncanny ability to cast his characters perfectly came early in his career.
　　Adrienne Shelley is a near perfect foil to herself, equal parts annoying teen burgeoning in her sexuality (though using sex for several years); obsessed with doom and inspired by idealism gone wrong she is deceptively – and simultaneously – complex and simple. Her Audrey inspires so many levels of symbolism it is almost embarrassingly rich (e.g., her modeling career beginning with photos of her foot – culminating her doing nude (but unseen) work; Manhattan move; Europe trip; her stealing, then sleeping with the mechanics wrench, etc.)
　　As Josh, Robert Burke gives an absolutely masterful performance. A reformed prisoner/penitent he returns to his home town to face down past demons, accept his lot and begin a new life. Dressed in black, and repeatedly mistaken for a priest, he corrects everyone ("I'm a mechanic"), yet the symbolism is rich: he abstains from alcohol, he practices celibacy (is, in fact a virgin), and seemingly has taken on vows of poverty, and humility as well. The humility seems hardest to swallow seeming, at times, almost false, a pretense. Yet, as we learn more of Josh we see genuineness in his modesty, that his humility is indeed earnest and believable. What seems ironic is the character is fairly forthright in his simplicity, yet so richly drawn it becomes the viewer who wants to make him out as more than what he actually is. A fascinatingly written character, perfectly played.
　　The scene between Josh and Jane (a wonderful, young Edie Falco . . . "You need a woman not a girl") is hilarious . . . real. But Hartley can't leave it as such and his trick, having the actors repeat the dialogue over-and-over becomes frustratingly "arty" and annoying . . . until again it becomes hilarious. What a terrific sense of bizarre reality this lends the film (like kids in a perpetual "am not"/"are too" argument).
　　Hartley's weaves all of a small neighborhood's idiosyncrasies into a tapestry of seeming stereotypes but which delves far beneath the surface, the catalyst being that everyone believes they know what the "unbelievable truth" of the title is, yet no two people can agree (including our hero) on what exactly that truth is. A wonderful little movie with some big ideas.

　　亚发（阿牛 饰）从小就失去了父母，由善良的外公一手拉扯长大，患有自闭症的他虽然异于常人，却拥有着极快的手速和灵敏的嗅觉。建平（郑靖辰 饰）、琳琳（练倩卉 饰）和吉瑞米（李荣峻 饰）是亚发的好友，一群人在一起度过了一段无忧无虑的时光。然而，亚发最终还是要走上社会的，为此，外公拜托朋友给亚发找了一份工作。
　　刚刚进入职场，毫无社会经验的亚发尝到了人生的辛酸和苦闷，但天性乐观开朗的他凭借着努力和勇气，渐渐获得了周遭的认可和肯定。就在亚发的事业一路顺风顺水之时，他却得到了外公病倒的消息，巨额的医疗费近在眼前，亚发决定靠行动守护外公。