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Reviewed by: Suad Bejtovic, Bosnian Movie Critic

Directed by: Spike Jonze

Starring: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and … oh, yes, John Malkovich

Watching this movie feels more like being in outer space than all "Star Wars" combined. The idea itself may not be a very original one, but it is so carefully crafted into a humorous script, and so wonderfully acted, it’s a true joy to be a part of that experience. It’s like "Monty Python and The Holy Grail" for the Nineties.

First, you have the 7th-and-a-half floor, and its bizarre history. John Cusack is a puppeteer that just got a "real" job there, because of his "swift fingers". Rumbling through his office, he finds a door that enables him to transcend himself into John Malkovich’s body for 15 minutes. The "fantastic voyage" ends with a fall from a blue sky on the side of New Jersey Turnpike. That fall is so absurd, you have to laugh your lungs out every single time you see it, despite your expectations that you would see enough of it. Soon, puppeteer’s wife (played marvelously by Cameron Diaz in a rare non-babe performance) and his sexy co-worker begin a bizarre lesbian relationship, again using Malkovich as a vessel. The co-worker and a puppeteer even start a business of selling a piece of Malkovich’s mind and body. The plot thickens further with the appearance of several older folks, interested in a reincarnation. As a culmination, a puppeteer completes his ultimate challenge – he finds a way to remain in Malkovich’s body permanently, but not forever, as the exciting twist at the end suggests…

The mystery of the movie is not even that much in its plot, although I have revealed many essential points. Its beauty is in simplicity and ease with which one scene supercedes the other. The atmosphere of the movie is dark, but its spirit is very uplifting. After the end, you cannot help asking all kinds of thought-provoking questions. Among them, one from the Monty Python crew: the Meaning of Life…

    

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