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Film reviews

Rose Review

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This is a film that focuses on the reality of an individual that battles with her challenging life situation. Director and writer Niels Arden Oplev brings his audience to a world that is inspired by his own family. Rose is a film of deep emotions that displays why acceptance and tolerance is essential…especially when dealing with those who cannot process information in a certain way. The film exposes the life of a woman with schizophrenia, whose patterns begin to shift as she is exposed to more of society. The experience is both overwhelming and exhilarating.

Oplev deserves credit for creating a project based on a sensitive and thought-provoking scenario of life, while also reminding his audience to have a heart that listens. Oplev’s faithfulness in Rose is sincere and prominent. It is an experience where limitations lead to a search for self-care and importance in the world. Oplev’s direction is monumental and exhilarating in Rose.

The film takes place in Denmark in the 1990s. Its main character is Inger, played by Sofia Grabol. Inger lives in a home for the disabled as she suffers from schizophrenia. Her mind is compromised. In the opening scene, Inger is lying on her bed with her thoughts racing. She envisions a happy time in her childhood. Inger’s sister is Ellen, played by Lena Maria Christensen. Ellen’s husband is Vagn, played by Anders W. Berthelsen. She and her husband decide to take Inger on a vacation to Paris. In the beginning, Inger is against this, and she tries to make things difficult by stating to everyone on their coach bus, “My name is Inger, and I’m mentally ill.” Inger’s illness takes toll on her daily existence in the home, but soon this trip changes her life through an enriching revelation.

The film is pervasive and honest in portraying the pain of Inger’s schizophrenia. She is constantly desperate for valium, and dwells on the patterns that float in her mind. Inger has outbursts where she shuns everyone around her. Ellen and Vagn are Inger’s biggest help on this getaway to Paris as they know how to help Inger to get her spirits up. The empathy and support of Ellen and Vagn is the heartfelt element that thrives in Rose. It evokes hope and empathy to see her seeing finding inspiration to carry on from those that are her biggest fans.

The routines of Inger speak with a raw truth. Inger’s mind is set in its patterns and change becomes a high ladder for her to climb. She does however learn how to climb. Her complex journey on the Paris trip is a reminder that even those with severe disabilities need a form of connection…one that ensures them that they still matter. Despite her limitations, she findsplaces of happiness where she is able to emphasize her good intentions and live her fullest life. Through Inger and Ellen, the film’s tight writing and Oplev’s direction form inseparable connection that dives deep into the strongest forms of empathy and compassion.

A turning point for Inger is when she visits a museum and finds great joy in the atmosphere and artifacts and their ability to enrich her existence. Having a disability can make life feel detrimental, but it can also display brilliance in life. Rose makes the viewer feel how important it can be to keep chin up…even in times where acceptance and tolerance is not inevitable. There is a moment where Inger asks the question “Maybe you could make the biggest dream come true?” This question proves deeply that Inger has an empathetic heart, and that despite her hardship with her mental state, she is still a person who cares about those around her. The realization of Inger seeing the greatness in inspiring those around her is the knockout form in the form of a surreal and unforgettable story.

The title Rose may make the audience wonder about its meaning. There is a point where Inger asks, “Am I still your rose?” The essence of Rose embodies the love and support that Inger has around her. It is a journey of finding meaning to lifeand embracing hope and shining the light of who we are despite limitations. The rose opens up and blossoms to show its ultimate beauty. All Inger wants is to feel loved. Will she find a way to feel that again? Rose answers that question in a most thought-provoking and beautifully written and directed way. Four out of four stars for Rose.

Film reviews

Enys Men Review

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Enys Men is set in the middle of nowhere on an island and the year is 1973. The cinematography here makes its viewers feel like it’s a 1970s horror setting—the lighting and faded colorswith no brightness maintain its questioning direction. The film also uses wide and panning shots repeatedly for further disturbing effect. The positive aspect though, is that it grasps its viewers’ attention with depth and attention to detail. Writer and director Mark Jenkin attempts to have this project be as experimental as possible, however it struggles to hold up well.

The plot centers on a woman named simply The Volunteer (played by Mary Woodvine). She is a volunteer on an island that is off the Cornish coast around the setting of the United Kingdom. Much of the beginning of the film captures her doing her duties on the island—she logs her observations, does routine maintenance, and listens to information and instructions that come to her via a radio. Its setting is clearly one of solitude,especially since the film has little to no dialogue. The Volunteer has a lot of time for free thinking. Her thoughts seem a bitbipolar, but she somehow maintains her calm.

Enys Men is invigorating with its vast landscape and its elements of growing terror when it begins. The red lightning at night is a macabre foretelling of what haunting is to come. Unexpectedlythough, the scariest aspects come from a rare flower. The flower keeps changing its form. Every time The Volunteer comes across this flower, her mind begins to envision more questioning aspects that are on her mind. The volunteer may be alone, but there is definitely the feeling that there is another with essence living there with her.

The film’s entirety is metaphysical as nature takes its course in lightness and darkness. What evil lurks through the nature of the island? What harsh past relates back to The Volunteer? The film focuses on The Volunteer becoming affected adversely by the negative energy of the nature around her. Its ultimate grandeur is displayed in the use of artistic lighting and creepy elements. Enys Men takes its time and unfortunately this makes the storyline drag along. The plant continues to change and the growth throws in an aspect of terror, but its not quite enough to keep things interesting.

Despite all the weirdness in the film, it struggles to findcontinuity and leaves the viewer wondering what this film is all about. The flower makes The Volunteer start to feel quiet transformations in her anatomy. Every time she visits the plantsomething seems to possess her and soon it overcomes her more than she anticipates. Existence on the island gets more treacherous, not in the environmental sense, but in the way The Volunteer starts thinking.

The writing falls short in Enys Men, as it remains an experience where a slew of patterns keeps trying to build a mental puzzle that is obscure and out of focus. The film is a ride of mental torture that lacks invigorating obstacles. The detrimental forces of nature do not fulfill the terror that most audiences would expect and the weird patterns of events both in The Volunteer’s mind and the nature of the island are foggy at best. Her mindset is consumed with too much experimental terror which seems more like a drug trip than anything and does not add much effect for visually or internally stirring moments.

Enys Men is an experimental thriller mixing a form of an evolving fantasy with symbolism. There are people in the film as well, but many of them are within the mind of The Volunteer. Its ultimate downfall though is that Enys Men never reaches a point of revelation. The film is a bizarre experiment of an experience with nature taking its course. Way too many pauses along the way make this one that is forgettable. One half out of four stars for Enys Men.

Film reviews

Silent Night Review

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John Woo is back! This time he is taking the action and destruction in a new direction in Silent Night. The film starts with running from a chaotic struggle of life and death which turns into a life of regret. Despite all the moving parts, there is no dialogue among anyone in the film. This creates a unique experience that is a blend of noir and suspense. The audience must use their mind and study the facial expressions of both the heroes and the enemies. The result is a riveting and intriguing ordeal.

The film begins with a man named Godlock, played by Joel Kinnaman. The film opens with him in a whirlwind of trouble with gang members who have killed his son. They have also severely injured Godlock’s neck and damaged his vocal chords, causing him to lose his voice. This sets the film up to grasp the audience as Godlock takes steps towards redemption. The turmoil and sadness caused by his son’s death fuels his mind. With all his anger, he puts together a list of plans and resources to kill the ones who killed his son. He plans to do it on Christmas Eve, because they killed his son that day and almost killed him. Godlock’s wife Saya (played by Catalina Sandino Moreno) cannot deal with her husband’s pain. Therefore, she stays out of his dangerous business. There is also a detective named Vassell (played by Kid Cudi). Saya and Vassell are out of the loop with what is going on in Godlock’s head. While he does not have a voice, he has skills and ways to kill that are menacing.

The writing is a quiet thriller, and the story has a foundation. It paints a portrait of where Godlock is hurting as well as the crime lord he is after. That man is Playa (played by Harold Torres), who is a kingpin and a pimp involved with many dangerous operations. Despite the level of danger that Playa possesses, Godlock can do unforeseen damage. Woo’s direction of weakness and despair is spellbinding in Silent Night. The backstory, however, does not clearly define why his son was killed. There is not even much description regarding Godlock’s involvement in the events that happened before his revenge. The setup of the vengeance happens after the mayhem at the start of the film.

The level of turmoil and sadness is gut-wrenching in Silent Night. It makes the audience eager for the vindictiveness in Kinnaman’s performance as Godlock. The humanistic aspect of grief goes down an inevitable slippery slope because there is no forgiveness in Silent Night. Woo’s direction is focused on giving the bad guys what they deserve. How treacherous is the revenge going to be? The only way to figure that out is for the audience to follow the film’s pattern of characterization without dialogue.

The film also features Godlock playing a self-detective. He gets access to classified documents to put together his puzzle and plot out who to kill or question to make his mark. Godlock may not be able to scream, talk, or beg—but he can walk, fight, and execute. The result is a daring thriller from the mind of Woo. Silent Night has a noir approach utilized to showcase an introvert compelled for resurrection for the sake of his deceased child. When Christmas Eve comes around…bells go off in Silent Night. Woo’s direction is mentally inviting with loads of explosiveness throughout the movie.

A trail of enemies and vindictiveness—that is Silent Night, an experience of violence with many consequences. Woo’s approach utilizes dry understanding but leads to a riveting climax that will be remembered for ages. The fact that there is no dialogue is an important element which requires facial expressions and the situation to tell the story. Three out four stars for Silent Night.