Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on March 10, 2010 at 11:00:27

story line to keep the logic-demanding viewer engaged, though perhaps maddingly and frustratingly so.
An aging recluse decides upon a heart transplant but his ultra-violent past interferes with his attempts to reconnect with his estranged children in a last attempt at human warmth before what may be his death. The deal to secure his new heart also imperils him or.... does it? With Claire Denis, we are cast adrift in a changing emotional landscape which all but outdistances the amazing changes of location, from mountains of France to the docks of Korea and on to Tahiti (with an earlier stop in some Spanish-speaking seaside area).
It is senseless to describe the film's plot because it is told in a visual/emotional text; Denis doesn't care to provoke the viewer to a logical exercise but rather a sensual one, an emotional feeling. We are never quite sure what the man is imagining, experiencing, distorting; this film is close to what a Camus-inspired absurdist drama would appear like.
Perhaps not a perfect film but it has more interest, heart, and beauty than thirty works of successful linear story-tellers.
For those unfamiliar with Denis, I'd suggest "Beau Travail" or "Chocolat" as better starting points.