"10 Items of Less (2006)", a film produced as an Independent Film and took only 15 days to shoot, is a work that you will fall in love with the more you watch it. It's not like The Sunset Limited (2011) had only two actors throughout the movie - but these two were Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones. That's amazing - even in 10 Items of Less (2006), if you count the number of actors who were given lines, less than seven. However, the lead roles were Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega (one of the most famous actresses in Spain), and Jonah Hill and Danny Devito briefly appeared in the lead supporting roles.
I also like the title. A counter that only counts for people who purchase 10 or less... It's not a movie story, but people sometimes bring 11 and insist on paying for it. Sometimes I fill up a cart and stand in line proudly. It is a cross section of the world where greed, busyness, and suffocation.
The movie begins like this: Actor Morgan Freeman (playing himself), who has been on hiatus for the past four years, is looking for the first film to break the vacancy. He gets an offer from an unnamed independent film company and goes to a big market in a remote area. I go on an expedition. There he meets a Hispanic cashier (Scarlett: Vega). She is only in her late twenties , working at the small checkout counter, and is living a hard and conscientious life, but her life is blocked in several directions. Freeman is looking around the market, but when the studio employee doesn't come back on time, Scarlet is worried about this and decides to go with Freeman, even though he has a very important interview schedule. In this way, the two of them became acquainted by chance, and they spent the entire afternoon shopping, having lunch, and washing the car. Freeman accompanies Scarlet for an interview for a secretary job at a construction company that Scarlet has been preparing for a long time, giving her confidence and courage.
What I feel when watching this movie is that the conversation between these two people is very private. It feels like eavesdropping. But there are also mixed feelings, full of love, sympathy, compassion, and regret. It is warm, but quite lonely. I get this feeling from the line below:
Freeman: I sit here in this car,
with somebody I hardly know,
in a section of town I haven't
a fuckin' clue where I am.
Don't know my phone number,
don't know what day it is.
I don't think I even have
a real friend I could call.
And I realize that I could just...
disappear. Just... disappear.
Scarlet: I don't have any friends.
Freeman: I know you don't.
Scarlet: I never had them.
Freeman: Never, at no time.
And I know everybody.
Scarlet: I could be your friend.
Freeman: No, you couldn't.
It feels like there are only these two people in the world. However, there are many warm-hearted people on their journey throughout the film. Towards the end, am I the only one feeling this feeling of isolation?
After doing a lot of work together in such a short time, the afternoon passes in a flash, and it's almost evening, and Freeman rides Scarlet's junk car to his home in Brentwood. In less than half a day on this journey, you can see that these two, who were strangers to each other at first, became remarkably close in half a day. A half-day journey between a woman in her late 20s and an internationally famous movie star in her 60s, whose life is not easy. Although no subtle feelings are shown between the two throughout the film, in the final scene, how the relationship between the two of them develops after that day. Makes you wonder if it's going to flow.
Below is a video of Paul Simon's "Duncan" playing as the background music, one of the soundtracks of this movie. It's inserted near the end of the movie, and the scene shows the two of them driving into the city in front of the Los Angeles sunset. The lyrics of the song and the video don't match, but for some reason, Paul Simon's song goes really well with scenes in dark corners of the city or on the outskirts of town. Maybe the director felt the same way, but the song in this scene doesn't quite fit, so my guess is probably right.
Couple in the next room
bound to win a prize
They've been going at it
all night long
Well, I'm trying to get some sleep
But these motel walls are cheap
Lincoln Duncan is my name
and here's
my song
My father was a fisherman
My mama was a fisherman's friend
And I was born in the boredom
and a chowder
So when I reached my prime
I left my home in the maritimes
Headed down the turnpike
for New England
Sweet New England
Holes in my confidence
Holes in the knees of my jeans
I was left without a penny
in my pocket
Ooo-Weee I was about
destitute as a kid could be
And I wished I wore a ring
so I could hock it
I'd like to hock it
- End
