Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with another review from the great white north. This time we have the thriller VINYAN starring Rufus Sewell. I remember catching wind of this via Todd's International Eye Candy Column and the review that Giante wrote actually gets me excited to see it. I kinda like those reviews that throw down the gauntlet. You're either going to buy into the movie and love it or you'll hate it. Can't wait to see what side I fall on. Enjoy the review!
Hello from the north Quint, Hi there, El Giante here. Last year was the first one for me and I saw 4 movies, 3 of which were awesome (Dai-Nipponjin, Ex-Drummer and A L'Interieur aka Inside), this year I'm looking at doing at least 15 so I should have some more reviews coming in. I'm going to skip reviewing JCVD, Detroit Metal City & Sauna since they've been done. Anyway, this afternoon I caught Vinyan (which was featured in the international eye candy a few weeks back). It's by Fabrice Du Welz who directed Calvaire and right from the opening credits it has a feel of it's own. We're introduced to Paul (Rufus Sewell making a return to good roles) & Jeanne (the ever beautiful Emmanuelle Béart) 6 months after the Tsunami hit Thailand. They stayed there to help rebuild and to try and get over the loss of their son in the disaster. In a video shot in Burma, Jeanne sees a boy she is sure to be their lost son Josh. On the chance it really is him she must go to try and find him. We follow the couple as they find people to get them into Burma (if only the found John Rambo things would have worked out much better) and start their progress to where they think their son could be. When things start to go wrong is where you're either along for the ride in the movie or you're going to hate it. Du Welz makes great use of sound/noise and visuals to throw us off the narrative and disorientate the viewer, leaving us to piece things together. As we're thrown into the wilderness of Burma with a society of feral children in the jungle Jeanne has lost touch with reality and Paul is trying to pull her back. The cinematography is a major player here; Benoît Debie (Calvaire, Irréversible) has some amazing shots that seem to go seemlessly from crane to hand held going straight from gorgeous overheads to confined spaces and overwhelming confusion. This shows the respective mindsets of the couple. And not giving anything away, but the ending is a scene that you aren't likely to forget or be entirely comfortable with. I know this isn't a very clear review, but it suits the movie. It is a very striking movie that will frustrate most of the people who see it, but if you take the chance you may enjoy the ride. El Giante.
