BROKEN WINGS // A FILM REVIEW OF "THE PAINTED BIRD"

BY MATEO MORENO

Before THE PAINTED BIRD made its way to the US, there was already a lot of "talk" about it from the festival circuit. When it played at the Venice and Toronto Film Festival, there were audience walkouts and much was reported from the critics there regarding the horrible topics the film explores. But not everyone had negative experiences. Those who were moved by it loved it, were trapped in its hellish landscape and praised the film, praised its cinematography by Vladimír Smutny and praised the filmmaker himself. Now it makes its US premiere, without a moment of its almost 3-hour running time lost. And while I can't guarantee you won't walk out yourself, I can guarantee you'll have the same experience, I can say that if you take a chance on the film you'll find a stunning cinematic experience about the grotesque world of Nazi Germany.

Young Petr Kotlár portrays the central protagonist, who's name isn't given until late in the film, and his situation is dire immediately. He's running through woods from some frightening kids, who eventually knock him down, bloody his face and take the small dog he's holding, cover it in lighter fluid and burn it to death. This immediate horrifying sequence of events sets the stage for countless more horrors to befall upon the boy. His parents have left him in the care of an Aunt, who quickly passes away and burns inside her own home. From there, he goes from place to place, "guardian" to "guardian" and finds that it's best to trust no one, because no one treats him like a human. And as we find out why he's treated so terribly, it becomes all the more horrifying as the world we are encompassed in seems like a horrible dream but is truly a dream the boy cannot himself wake from.

To say the least, THE PAINTED BIRD will not be for everyone. There is a lot of horror inside this 3-hour trip into the depths of hell. There's the act of simply watching this poor boy suffer unjustly by those who claim to be "adults" is horrifying enough (at one point, he's buried up to his neck and crows peck at his bloodied face), but then the film also throws in some truly horrible murders, suicide, rape, animal cruelty and bestiality (the most offensive things are not actually seen, but having them off camera makes it just as terrible). Now you may see why some found it hard to watch any further. But to leave the film unwatched would do a disservice to the story Marhoul is telling, and the tragic and powerful tale of the boy, played with a quiet power by Petr Kotlár. It's fair to say that it'll possibly be the most difficult watch of the year, and the horrors seem to keep coming from inside this dark world. This is truly the horror of Nazi Germany and a poor young boy having the unfortunate luck to walk through it.

Shot on 35mm and on glorious Black and White by cinematographer Vladimír Smutny, the film explodes in front of your eyes, and it's quite a strange feeling to have the cinematography be utterly gorgeous, while the images we see are so horrible. It is simply stunning to look at and often sickening to digest. Several well-known faces show up throughout the boy's journey, making an indelible mark with their cameos. From Udo Kier's abusive and psychopathic husband to Stellan Skarsgård's & Barry Pepper's sympathetic soldiers, Harvey Keitel's kindly Priest and finally Julian Sands horrific monster, the boy must experience each of them, and takes a piece of them all, be it good or bad or, as it is often, very bad. THE PAINTED BIRD is as powerful as it is disturbing, and although I don't believe I dare to see this film again, it will be quite a long time until I will, or can, forget it.

GRADE: B+ 

BASED ON THE NOVEL BY Jerzy Kosinski SCREENPLAY AND DIRECTION BY Václav Marhoul STARRING Petr Kotlár, Udo Kier, Lech Dyblik, Jitka Cvancarová, Lech Dyblik, Stellan Skarsgård, Harvey Keitel, Julian Sands, Barry Pepper. Now showing in Virtual Cinemas everywhere.

NYFF 53 REVIEW: THE FORBIDDEN ROOM

BY CHRISENA RICCI

Growing up, I watched a lot of old movies. Everything from black and white Bogart films to technicolor Gilligan’s Island episodes.  To this day, I still find a crackly old film to be extremely nostalgic and impressive. Which is maybe why Guy Maddin’s newest film truly struck me. A kind of mash-up between a sci-fi film of the 1940’s and a psychedelic Warhol-like dream sequence all set to the score of a silent film from the 1920’s, THE FORBIDDEN ROOM is the perfect balance of all things cinematic.

The first 20 minutes or so is a bit disorienting. The moment a story is established, a new story embedded in the current story is revealed. The pace is a bit dizzying. That paired with the squirming and squelching of some of the “still” shots, and the same 24 bars of music, intentionally yet poorly looped over written text, made me feel a bit nauseated. And then all of a sudden it clicks, and following the leapfrog movement from one piece of narrative to the next becomes easy. Occasionally, the audience is rewarded with a sort of backwards movement through each layer of plot which acts as a sort of breath before diving even further in to a world of controlled chaos.  It’s as if the director zooms in deeper and deeper and then quickly zooms back out all the way only to zoom back in even further.

As weird as the experience is, the stories are compelling and ring true with the human condition. After acclimating to the movement and visual effects, I found myself completely hooked. I loved that each story is embedded into the next in a stream of consciousness. I love that there is an entire plotline from the viewpoint of a mustache attached to an unhappy man. I love this film. After the two hour film concluded, I was treated to a special Q&A section in which Maddin delved a little deeper into the meaning of his work. I wish I knew ANY of the information he divulged before the screening. Hearing Guy talk about the similarities between a séance with the paranormal and a séance with lost films literally gave me goosebumps. His intent with this work was to bring to life lost films. His plan was to create a resurrected film database. That is exactly what this creepy, playful and chaotic film is.

Guy stresses that he is no scholar, which may be true, but he is one heck of a storyteller, and maybe even a bit of a séance artist or hypnotist.

VERDICT: MUST SEE

WRITTEN BY Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Robert Kotyk, and additional material by John Ashbery DIRECTED BY Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson STARRING Roy Dupuis, Clara Furey, Louis NEgin, Udo Kier, Gregory Hlady, Mathieu Amalric, Noel Burton, Geraldine Chaplin, Paul Ahmarani, Caroline Dhavenas, Charlotte Rampling, Maria de Medeiros

Playing as part of the 2015 53rd Annual New York Film Festival. For tickets and information: http://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2015/

CHRISENA RICCI once went to a costume party dressed in an all black dress and black wig. No one there could guess who she was. So she shouted out, "I'm Christina Ricci, without the T or I and add an E!" Everyone stood there confused, she was annoyed, so she stormed off. She never returned to that apartment ever again. Which is fine, because she later realized she was at the wrong party. She now lives in New York City.