Prettty disturbing film, isn’t it?
Have you seen it, indian*?
And yes, yes it is. *I have
Yes! Saw it yesterday,and still thinking about it.
Short wait on Netflix.
Not for long (since it just got a Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination this morning)
^Thanks for the heads up. I moved it to #1 position!
There sits a mighty compelling trailer. Gotta catch this’n.
It started off slow for me because I wasn’t sure what was happening. Once that became clear, then the movie got interesting.
I loved the Flashdance scene at the end.
Why do so many people call it disturbing?
The two or three violent scenes are mild, very quick and very effective. The sex scenes are also mild and quick, and also very effective in terms of showing what people may do under unusual circumstances.
At first, the dry way the characters are talking was a bit annoying, but I can’t imagine how more empathic or emotional performances would enhance the story.
I really liked the focus the director put between the viewer and the story… somewhere between the characters and the landscape / environment. As he said on his video interview on the NY review article, one of his interests was the fate of the family as a social unit.
Good movie.
You didn’t think the ending was disturbing?
What the female character did was very drastic… she wanted to escape. The act she did was uncomfortable but it fits with an expected behavior of living under such circumstances.
I’m guessing you don’t think she suffocated in the end? She doesn’t get out of the trunk once the car stops. That’s the part of the movie that I found most disturbing.
I didn’t think of that at first… Maybe she lost too much blood and was unconscious. It’s unlikely she died. The possibility of her dying did cross my mind and it heightened the dramatic content of the scene. But I wouldn’t call that disturbing.[/spoiler]
It is available to stream instantly on Netflix by the way.
I just so happened to randomly select it as I was browsing through on my Wii. I knew nothing about it, I just like foreign films and the little description perked my interest. I was not expecting that at all.
I didn’t really find it as disturbing as some people are finding it to be, unless of course you are particularly squeamish about certain taboos. The plot actually looks a lot more disturbing on paper I think. It’s just acted in such a deadpan and nearly emotionless way that it doesn’t play out as the dramatic psychological horror that it undoubtedly would have been were it made in the US.
I wouldn’t say I loved it or anything, but it really does draw you in. It’s an interesting way to spend ninety minutes or so.
Good point.
The director is disassociating us from the characters. At some points, the grass on the yard seems to be crucial to the storyline.
I bet he is a fan of, or is influenced by Theo Angelopoulos, a master of directing landscapes rather than people in his movies.
YWMV
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The dedpan acting itself is seriously disturbing.
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That this movie in a certain way portrays a"1984" type of control by father is disturbing.
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That the whole thing looked very natural is disturbing.This could be your neighbourhood story. Remember Fritzl?
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That the girl would probably never get out, as she doesn’t know how to open the trunk from inside. Even if she gests out without parental control how will she ever survive? Disturbing to me.
I watched this Saturday, based on reading about it here. I couldn’t remember if there was a specific thread about it or if it was just mentioned in the course of discussion. I’m glad there *is *a thread because I need to talk to someone after watching that :eek:
Actually, I feel like I should have been more disturbed but the characters’ total removal from our reality was so well done that I felt detached, as if I wasn’t even watching human beings, much less a family.
I’m not sure if we’re meant to know or even care what the motivations of the parents are. For a split second I thought it was going to turn out to be some kind of Twilight Zonesque twist(funnily enough the director says in the extras interview that his initial intention was to make it a SciFi story.). Did anyone else get bogged down by wondering about the back story?
Also, much of the dialogue would appear to be humorous(". . .A pussy is a big light"). Would this be considered an all out dark comedy? Would a Greek audience have a slightly different sensibility and find more to laugh at?
I tell you, this is about as original a film as I’ve ever watched and I must thank indian for bringing it to my attention.
Anyone else care to discuss? Don’t leave me to wonder the hairbrained halls of IMDB!
WOOKINPANUB,
The detachment is kind of haunting. Absolute emotionless performance leaves you thinking how to react to this. I give it a 10 /10 for acting.
This movie forces you to think on many levels, the dialogue is one of them.The contrast between the landscape and their life is another.
Love to hear from more dopers.
I liked this but I thought there was one inconsistency with regard to the arbitrary word definitions the parents supplied the kids with. There’s one scene in which one of the girls has a book, a medical book I believe. It seems to me that anyone left alone with a book which used the words of the language correctly would suspect that their world wasn’t quite right. Of course, maybe that’s why the eldest decides to escape.
Me. Interesting movie. I watched it once, alone. Mentioned it to my gf. Watched a second time with her. She says she will think twice before taking a film recommendation from me.