The Kiss

Just to set the record straight, Francoise Surel is the wife of producer Arthur Chang. She was on board the project from the get-go.

And while I truly appreciate some of the kind comments about the film, please know that I had nothing to do with the final version of the film. It was completely recut to focus on Ms. Surel. Likewise, the music was changed. I'm not at all fond of this final cut. And to say that I dislike the music is an understatement. And please know that the voice overs from the novel were written by other writers, not myself or Mr. Manzi.

While some of the better moments survived this cut (it's hard to make Eliza and Terence look bad), many unfortunately have not.

But nonetheless, thank you for watching, Gorman Bechard.

With no screaming visual effects, no killing and no mayhem, this may not be the film for the romantically challenged. What is there is a story with a heart, characters motivated by feelings and passion. A timeless desire for togetherness is molded into two stories that are really one. Artistically crafted with a wonderful score, this is a picture for those who seek the best in people and it reminds us of what can be. I highly recommend this to those of us who still can connect with their heart.

Finally, a film with content and true character development. The Kiss, which I viewed at the San Diego Film Festival, is one of the most refreshing films I've seen for a long time. Is it setting the scene for a turnaround in the American film style? I hope so. The storyline flows elegantly throughout the scenes from beginning to end. A realistically rendered emotional scene with Terrence Stamp and Francoise Surel toward the end only makes you wish that the film would not end so soon. A genuine change from the vapid, in-your-face, so-called dramas we have been subjected to over the last few years. This film brings the whole concept of movie watching up a notch. Highly recommend it.

I'll see anything Eliza Dushku is in, but I was really looking forward to this after getting my hands on a copy of the script. Suffice it to say I wasn't impressed. Apparently neither were the writers - before the film began, Stephen Manzi stood up and asked the audience not to laugh in the wrong places, as well as other comments of a similar nature that escape my swiss-cheese memory.

I can't quite put my finger on what was wrong with The Kiss. It's a wonderful story with an incredibly talented cast, but something got lost along the way. The script moved me to sappy romantic tears and the movie completely failed to move me.

I usually like and can even withstand bad, sappy romantic stories. However, this piece was not just unforgivably slow it was practically incoherent! By the time it reached someplace meaningful you no longer cared. With a cast like this one, it was pretty unforgivable it could turn out as bad. It was obvious a lot could have been made better in the editing process. So many CUTS or fades to black were unnecessary and made the whole production appear sophomoric. I've seen better college student films. In my opinion, more time was spent on set decoration than in meaningful editing or pacing. There were no BEATS, nor forward momentum which made it intolerable. So many things it WASN'T... wasn't a buddy movie, wasn't a love story, wasn't a mystery, wasn't sex enough and wasn't worth watching! And all this from someone who DOES work in the publishing field and LIKED the concept of this story!