In his first feature film Sorry, We're Dead, Bay Area filmmaker Alex Zajicek combines absurdism, comedy and his love of metanarrative to portray the unraveling of Lana Jing's life as she endures a career-related, quarter-life crisis. Armed with sarcasm and the encouragement of a secret admirer, Jing could be closer than ever to reaching her destiny - or at least a path leading away from her current job.
Zajicek, a known fan of adding meta elements to his work, throws in plenty of those moments too. In one scene, Jing sits with her roommate Walker in the car and says, "I could really use like, a third act turning point right now that fixes everything." Walker laughs and replies, "Imagine if the film ended right now." On screen, the credits start rolling. "I wonder who's playing me," Jing asks.
At one point, Walker turns to Jing and says, "You ready to brave the city traffic?" Cut to a scene of standstill traffic on a Bay Area bridge, complete with honking, wailing sirens and agonized screaming.
Perhaps the best moment for locals comes toward the film's end. Wheels spinning from another difficult lecture video edit, Walker pulls Jing out of bed to try and enjoy some time in the sun, away from work. "It's so depressing here," Jing says of the surrounding greenery. "It's all gonna be dead by summer."
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