Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on March 08, 2010 at 21:10:35

the top prize at Cannes for this film, joining Tarkovsky as the only director to have won that prestigious award twice.
A young farmer in a relationship with a neighboring farm girl, who is sexually casual, is packed off to fight in Iraq alongside an acquaintance who is the other object of the girl's affection. The most horrendous wartime crimes occur and these are juxtaposed and inter-cut with the psychological descent of the left-behind young woman.
I saw this film some time ago and was unimpressed but recently read an article mentioning it. The second viewing rewarded me: this is a lacerating, double-edged sword wielded against modern society, both peacetime and war.
Dumont's style can be deliberate, poetic one moment and lightning fast and helter-skelter the next which disorients the viewer, forcing one to find bridge the differences.
The principals, two young people neither of whom are able to communicate their feelings but act them out much as the farm animals they keep, sensitively are portrayed by two very talented actors.
Like many original artists, Dumont demands much of the viewer. Interestingly, in one scene late in the film, several soldiers have wandered into a desert oasis; it recalls the verdant new world of "Avatar" but without the necessity of CGI, gross colorizations, or freakish creatures. It is done with conventional cinematography and editing, though of a very high caliber.
But I digress.
This film is not for those who view the unexpected with alarm. For those willing to leap into a unique vision of the human struggle, a troubling and yet ultimately redeeming one, the film will not disappoint.