(dir. Erik Poppe, 2008)
This contemplative, slow-burning Norwegian film explores grief, guilt and redemption in the lives of its two main characters: Jan Thomas (Pål Sverre Valheim Hagen) who has recently been released from jail on parole after serving time for the murder of a four year old boy when he was himself only young; and Agnes (Trine Dyrholm) the mother of the murdered child, whose path crosses Thomas' after she recognises him in the church where he has found a job as an organist.
Initially the film is told entirely from Thomas' perspective, taking a sudden shift back in time at a key dramatic point to explore the same few weeks' events we have just witnessed from Agnes' increasingly distraught point of view.
Hagen's performance as Thomas is superb: a model of restraint which hints at the seething emotions churning between his seemingly-placid surface; while Dyrholm beautifully conveys her character's slow descent into near-madness. Supporting performance are also excellent, especially Ellen Dorrit Petersen as Anna, a single mother who is also the priest at the church where Thomas performs, and who finds herself slowly drawn to him.
While the story never quite drifts, its pace is a deceptively gentle one, with director Erik Poppe seemingly concerned as much by mood and tone as by the story he is telling. He also avoids moralising, presenting unbiased studies of both his characters, despite the fact that Thomas has never quite faced up to the blood on his - relatively innocent - hands, and Agnes rapidly transforms from a calm and collected school teacher to a stalker and kidnapper. That both characters remain so sympathetic is a testimony to the film's strong performances, and to the elliptical and poetic screenplay by Harald Rosenlow-Eeg.
Troubled Water is an aesthetically beautiful and emotionally ambiguous film that packs a great punch into its relatively small scope, but which also feels somewhat distant and restrained as a result of its carefully considered structure.
Rating: Three and a half stars
THE COVE
(Dir. Louie Psihoyos, 2009)
Louie Psihoyos' documentary about the capture and slaughter of dolphins in a small Japanese coastal town is remarkable not only because of its subject matter and how it is told, but for the way it ties together a number of plot threads - environmental issues, historical events, and a potential health crisis facing Japan - into a tightly edited and compelling whole.
Every year in Taiji, Japan, local fisherman herd wild dolphins into shore en masse. A handful are sold and enslaved to marine entertainment parks around the world - places like Sea World on the Gold Coast. The majority are cruelly butchered, and their mercury-tainted meat is sold for public consumption; but the number of dolphins killed far exceeds demand, and so their meat is given away for free as lunches to Taiji's school children, despite the health risks such consumption entails.
Led by Richard O'Barry, a former dolphin trainer who has since renounced the trade and exhibition of dolphins for human entertainment, and who believes that dolphins are sentient, self-aware creatures, the film follows a band of eco-activists as they infiltrate the tightly guarded cove where the dolphins are barbarically slaughtered, using thermal cameras and hidden cameras to capture the compelling footage they hope will bring an end to the dolphin-meat trade.
The Cove is definitely and proudly one-sided - no alternative arguments are put forward, for example, to contradict O'Barry's claims that the captivity of dolphins is cruel and uncalled for - but it is also exceptionally well crafted. From highlighting the manner in which Japan has brazenly bribed member nations of the International Whaling Convention (the film visits a multi-million dollar fish factory built for a Caribbean country in exchange for their pro-whaling support which today is used to store chickens), to detailing the public health risks posed by the consumption of mercurry-poisoned dolphin meat, the film pulls no punches.
The film is especially engaging when it comes to documenting the eco-warrior tricks used to infiltrate the Taiji cove where the dolphins are killed - and it does not shy away from showing the confronting results, in which the waters of the cove literally turn red with blood. A highly recommended and deeply affecting documentary that will ensure you never look at dolphins in captivity the same way again.
www.thecovemovie.com
Rating: Four stars
THIRST
(Dir. Park Chan-wook, 2009)
Fresh from Cannes, where it won the Jury Prize, comes this sexy, stylish, bloody and original take on the vampire film by cult Korean director Park Chan-wook.
A failed medical experiment (exactly why the experiment is necessary, or precisely what the disease is that it is part of the quest for a cure for, is never clearly explained, but just relax and go with the roller-coaster flow of the film) results in Father Sang-hyeon (Song Kang-ho) becoming a vampire, complete with increased strength and agility, an aversion to sunlight and an insatiable thirst for blood - as well as a few other vices he picks up along the way - such as a deep hunger for lusty young shop assistant Tae-joo (Kim Ok-vin), although she unfortunately comes complete with an overbearing mother-in-law and a drip - literally - of a husband...
Sex, death and murder - these are such stuff as Korean film fans' dreams are made of, and from snotty ghosts to wire-work feats of vampiric agility over the rooftops, Thirst does not disappoint. The blackly humourous tone, despite bloodletting and broken bones aplenty, never really falls into horror film territory; instead it satirises Korean attitudes towards family and religion, while providing foreigners such as myself with exquisitely composed and startling mise-en-scene.
Inspired by Emile Zola’s 1867 novel Therese Raquin, Thirst is a story of moral conflict and corruption told with an uncertain but always entertaining tone, and incorporating acrobatic camera-work, excellent performances, and buckets of blood galore.
Rating: Four stars
This is the second of a (hopefully daily) series of reviews I'll be posting from the 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival. Check back tomorrow for more mini-reviews.
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