Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on February 08, 2009 at 20:09:19

Reichart as director, writer, and editor.
There is a fine line between simple and banal and Ms. Reichart knows exactly where that lies. Like the very fine French film, "Vagabond" (which alerted the world to the prodigiously talented Sandrine Bonnaire) this film hitches its wagon to the mysterious portrayal of its central character, Wendy, by Michelle Williams--- she is in every frame.
A young woman traversing the NW, runs into a series of bad breaks on her way to Alaska and becomes a captive of circumstances. That is the rather basic plot and that's all that's needed. It's been said ad nauseum that art consists in removing the extraneous and, if that is so, this indeed is high art: there isn't a superfluous scene, word, or gesture. All show the gradual process of a character slowly realizing her position in the world.
Several years ago, there was a brilliant, unforgettable very low budget thriller by Steven Soderbergh which featured non-professional actors. "Bubble" did something very few films, with immense budgets and glamor technicians mostly fail at: creating absolute realism. The film erased the membrane which many directors consciously or subconsciously erect so that viewers can retain a comfort zone when watching unnerving events.
Reichart shows that same ability to make the viewer feel he is witnessing real events, that at times he should intercede.
This is a very quiet film but one which will stay long with me, I know.