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"According to program notes,
the 100-page script for Scared New World was filmed in ten days on a budget of $5,000. If I believe them (at least ten locations…in ten days?)
it just goes to prove what genius can do when pressed. Writer, producer, editor and lead actor yahn soon (that name must be
some sort of gag, of which there are many here) in cahoots with director and cinematographer Chris Brown have come up with
a charming 82 minutes of insight. Medical marijuana isn’t really the subject, just a pervading element. Quick shots
of empty rooms introduce us to the apartment where Alma (Lena Zee) and Vargas (soon) have separate spaces. He writes behind
slammed doors (“No!” is his automatic response to any knock), and she deals in pot. When Penny, a French student,
moves in things liven up considerably as she explores new friendships. Alma’s little boy Ricky and cancer patient Patricia
are only two of the others we meet. Ricky deals out tarot cards, much as Brown and soon deal out scenes and shots. We are
flipped from party to beach to countryside. A bong is smoked, children are instructed, lovers are exchanged. We get to know
and appreciate many people from many angles. One of the walls in the apartment holds what might be a grand piano set on its
side to be strummed at will. A creaking floor makes music too. If you agree with me that movies depend on pictures to be a
true art form, remember these names. Expanded, their funds will produce masterpieces."
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