On_line

After a disastrous break-up, John decides to start an Internet sex-site together with his roommate Moe. Soon, their lives take new turns as they become more and more involved with their erotic chat rooms and the people spending time there. Finally, they are forced to deal with each other in the real world. On_Line is a comedy-drama telling the story of six cyberspace-addicts who spend far too much time surfing the web. Director Jed Weintrob's feature debut, shot on DV, touches upon subjects such as sex, friendship, identity and addiction. But the real issue in this film is whether, or rather how, real life interaction has changed after the explosive spread of Internet communities, webcam video chatrooms and e-mailing lists. Is this technology bringing us closer to each other, as the ones in favour proclaim, or is it actually dividing us, moving us further apart as we sit in front of the computer screens, isolated in our homes? CAROLINE AFLALO