On the Road with Judas

If we tell ourselves stories to live, as a famous author puts it, then the task of modern cinema is not just to allow us to experience but also to revisit and become conscious. And if all this seems so ethereal, so academic, meet JJ Lask, the author and creator of some of the most original storytelling I've seen this year.

On the Road with Judas is a film based on a real novel, written by a writer, played by an actor, about the real characters and the actors playing those characters in this story. It is also a delightful and fun romp about crime, love, and David Lee Roth.

Lask, the novelist, lives in two worlds, and both exist inside his mind. His characters are both "real" and "actors." His main character, Judas, is also a man living a double life as an entrepreneur and a petty criminal. But when he falls in love, he must deal with things which he simply cannot handle.

This deliciously playful tapestry of narrative point of view--at times recondite but always stimulating--of the author, the filmmaker, and the subjects is seamlessly integrated and invigoratingly sophisticated. Poignant as well as cerebral, the postmodern and charming On the Road with Judas resonates with a multiplicity of voices that underscore the complexity of truth and fiction.