Father Geek here with our long time Euro-reporter grozilla® and his take on the movie BIRTH...
Hi, grozilla®, the french guy who can't spell english, here...
I've just seen the next Nicole Kidman stuff tonight at an early press screening here in Paris. It's the least I can do to say that it puzzled me.
The story? At the same time that some guy named Sean dies while jogging, a baby boy is birthing... Ten years later as the widow is going to be remarried, she meets a young boy who tells her he's the reincarnation of Sean. Those of you waiting for supernatural stuff with posessed bodies and green vomit should pass. Audrey Rose it ain't. Or, maybe in some ways its a remake in reverse, when it's all about Kidman's self-convincing that her lost love is living again. So there's no head spinning here. Maybe because BIRTH is a tale about The Soul. A feeling floating all along a sort of melancholic mood. One of the assets of Jonathan Glazer's film is this very quiet, haunted mood. If I have to describe it, I just can say it's like some Kubrick film, but with a heart. (is it because of the kid, or the slow scenes, I felt like I was seeing a sad Christmas tale-ish version of The Shining, without the intense anguish). No cliffhanger, no violent or scary moments here. Birth manages to be very tender however still having some kind of menace growing around. But again it ain't a spooky movie. No Sixth sense twist here. Just this unusual and moving story about faith, mourn and weight of memories. The feeling of a tale having to do with the wonderful cast. Yes, Kidman is again wonderful as is Cameron Bright (beware Haley Joel Osment you've got a true great rival here), in particular the exceptional supporting cast (Peter Stormare, Arliss Howard, Ted Levine and Anne Heche as... the witch, anyway that's how I felt her part). Trouble is with the ending. Not saying it's bad. Far from it, but I would have liked it to be less cartesian. But if it was, the obvious point Glazer is making would have been missed. The overwhelming conclusion makes it all about betrayal and forgiveness. So I can't say if this ending is fair or deceitful... But maybe I just have to let Birth "grow old" in my head . For now, I can't swear this is a masterpiece (even if that's what I think of its first hour), anyway this is by far one of the best films I've seen this year so far, right there along side Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Jonathan Caouette's Tarnation...
'til next
grozilla®
PS : by the way : Tom Cruise and Michael Mann were here yesterday to promote the French release of "Collateral". They spoke a bit about their next common project: THE FEW, a story about a RAF soldier during the battle of Britain, just to say that it might be shot in two years from now. Asked about the woman parts in his film, Mann added, he's very interested in doing "some film about Janis Joplin" in some near future...
