Trailer of the Day: Alvin’s Harmonious World of Opposites

Alvin spends his days working as a Japanese translator, carefully creating the illusion of everyday normalcy for his friends, colleagues and those around him. But then there are the panda toys, the good-looking girl downstairs that Alvin spies on but can’t summon the courage to approach, the crazed and angry neighbour across the corridor, and the matter of something strange happening to his apartment.

With tensions in his life and home steadily building, Alvin must either accept the stains that permeate his sheltered existence or finally make a break for it. In Alvin’s Harmonious World of Opposites, local first-time feature director Platon Theodoris has produced a film that is simultaneously intriguing and enjoyable, surreal and funny. Imbued with magical realism that recalls whimsy and verve of Michel Gondry as well as the creative imagination of Spike Jonze, all while depicting a world that is seems familiar yet somehow very, different, this is one of the most striking and original films to come out of Australia in years.