Monday, September 13, 2004
Twentynine Palms
There's a really good review of this film at IMDB, but I wanted to write my own short take.
****SPOILERS ALERT******
This film isn't exactly The Sixth Sense, but much of its appeal comes from anticipation of an unknown, awful event at the climax. We're going to go into that a little bit here, so this is strictly for folks who've seen the film or who are pretty sure they'll never see it.
The horrific climax is quietly symbolized by an inexplicable action by the protagonist David at the beginning of the film. While driving on the freeway, he takes out a roll of red tape and puts a swatch of tape around the top of the steering wheel. It's unnerving watching him do it, because he's doing it while driving, and because he cradles the tape in his lap (offscreen) while he works, so as a result he's constantly looking down at his crotch and playing with it. It takes several minutes to complete the action. The result of his handiwork is a little strip of red at the zenith of his steering wheel, just as there will a violent act at the climax of this story.
This is a demanding film, and controversial because many in the audience are confounded about what it means. Very little seems to happen besides sex, and the dialog is spare and prosaic. Worse, it seems exploitative, like a softcore porn film with a violent ending. But I think the intent of the film is clear if we have faith in the filmmaker's intentions, and view it as a straightforward picture of real characters in a real situation.
David and Katia are young, good-looking, shallow aesthetes. As such they're by no means far-fetched. In fact, I know someone like David, and I've listened to him describing his travails with his Katia.
The two lovers are united in the desire to live a life akin to an erotic dream. This is especially apparent when they climb naked into the small mountain of desert rocks, and recline on a high flat rock, as if posing for a photo shoot (but quickly realize that they'll get sunburned if they stay like that for long.) They seem unaware of their surroundings, copulating in a hotel swimming pool shortly before being joined by other guests.
Katia seems to be more caught up in this erotic dream than David is. David is often distracted by practical concerns, such as worrying that his car will get scratched by branches on the dirt road in the desert. In fact, Katia, who speaks only French, is slowly driving David crazy with her nonsensical conversation, as when she says her ice cream cone is "not good-- but good." Is she stupid? Slightly insane? My theory is that she doesn't want to let go of the dream-like existence she has with David. She hardly ever refers to him by name, preferring to call him "my love." But she can't fully connect with David. Early in the film she asks him what he's thinking. "Nothing," he says, "I'm just driving." This brings her to tears.
David's hostility and aggression towards Katia builds slowly. Early in the film it seems to be an erotic urge to dominate. While swimming with her, he holds her under the water for an alarming length of time, and when he lets her go she is shocked and fearful of him. She moves to the far end of the pool, her back to him. We watch over her shoulder as he slowly swims towards her (the other review compared him to a stalking crocodile-- exactly!)
But as their trip wears on, his true anger begins to crystalize with angry outbursts. At one point she locks herself in the motel bathroom until he starts banging angrily on the door. When she finally emerges he escorts her to the front door, saying he never wants to see her again, and throws her out. Later that night, he goes looking for her, and they have a boxing match in the middle of the highway, and then crumple into a knot of wrestling figures on the pavement, him crying 'I hate you!' repeatedly.
But while we are witnessing the disintegration of the couple's affections, we are also subtly aware of threatening elements in their environment. A waitress tears the menu away from David after he orders. While they walk down the street, a hateful man shouts at them from a pickup. While they're on dirt road they're suddenly overtaken by a white van which pulls in front of them and slams on the brakes, tearing out again moments later. Though they are barely aware of the locals, it seems that the locals have taken notice of them.
The payoff of this sinister undertone comes suddenly and fiercely, as the white van returns and rams into the back of their car and forces them off the highway. Three rednecks burst from the van and drag the young lovers from their car. Katia's dress is torn off and she's held down by one of the men. The other two men wrestle David to the ground and one of them beats him over the head savagely with a baseball bat. Then they pull his pants down and rape him. Afterwards one of the rednecks has a noisy climax, they abandon the couple and drive off. David is semi-conscious and moaning horribly; Katia is unharmed but devastated.
Back at the hotel room, David quietly sits on the bed, his face swollen grotesquely. Katia is solicitous of David, and asks if they should call the police. He says no. She leaves to get some pizza. When she returns he is shut up in the bathroom. She knocks on the bathroom door and suddenly he bursts from it and forces her down on the bed. He has a knife in his his hand and he plunges it into her chest repeatedly, stabbing her dozens of times. We also see now that the damage to his head is much worse than it appeared from the front-- the back of his scalp has entirely peeled away!
Shortly after the murder, the last shot reveals him dead, naked, in the middle of the desert, a fat patrolman walking around at a distance from the body, calling in the case and saying it looks like the guy has been through a meatgrinder.
What should we make of this violent set of events? The first incident is indeed a random act of violence, perhaps motivated by resentment and envy, we have no way of telling. But the result of the violence is that David is changed from a beautiful young man into a horrible creature. I think it's the destruction of his good looks that drives him over the edge. Katia has awakened from the erotic dream, she's the practical one now, ready to move on to another man. But all David has left is his anger, and he won't let her escape their shared dream that has become a horrible nightmare.
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****SPOILERS ALERT******
This film isn't exactly The Sixth Sense, but much of its appeal comes from anticipation of an unknown, awful event at the climax. We're going to go into that a little bit here, so this is strictly for folks who've seen the film or who are pretty sure they'll never see it.
The horrific climax is quietly symbolized by an inexplicable action by the protagonist David at the beginning of the film. While driving on the freeway, he takes out a roll of red tape and puts a swatch of tape around the top of the steering wheel. It's unnerving watching him do it, because he's doing it while driving, and because he cradles the tape in his lap (offscreen) while he works, so as a result he's constantly looking down at his crotch and playing with it. It takes several minutes to complete the action. The result of his handiwork is a little strip of red at the zenith of his steering wheel, just as there will a violent act at the climax of this story.
This is a demanding film, and controversial because many in the audience are confounded about what it means. Very little seems to happen besides sex, and the dialog is spare and prosaic. Worse, it seems exploitative, like a softcore porn film with a violent ending. But I think the intent of the film is clear if we have faith in the filmmaker's intentions, and view it as a straightforward picture of real characters in a real situation.
David and Katia are young, good-looking, shallow aesthetes. As such they're by no means far-fetched. In fact, I know someone like David, and I've listened to him describing his travails with his Katia.
The two lovers are united in the desire to live a life akin to an erotic dream. This is especially apparent when they climb naked into the small mountain of desert rocks, and recline on a high flat rock, as if posing for a photo shoot (but quickly realize that they'll get sunburned if they stay like that for long.) They seem unaware of their surroundings, copulating in a hotel swimming pool shortly before being joined by other guests.
Katia seems to be more caught up in this erotic dream than David is. David is often distracted by practical concerns, such as worrying that his car will get scratched by branches on the dirt road in the desert. In fact, Katia, who speaks only French, is slowly driving David crazy with her nonsensical conversation, as when she says her ice cream cone is "not good-- but good." Is she stupid? Slightly insane? My theory is that she doesn't want to let go of the dream-like existence she has with David. She hardly ever refers to him by name, preferring to call him "my love." But she can't fully connect with David. Early in the film she asks him what he's thinking. "Nothing," he says, "I'm just driving." This brings her to tears.
David's hostility and aggression towards Katia builds slowly. Early in the film it seems to be an erotic urge to dominate. While swimming with her, he holds her under the water for an alarming length of time, and when he lets her go she is shocked and fearful of him. She moves to the far end of the pool, her back to him. We watch over her shoulder as he slowly swims towards her (the other review compared him to a stalking crocodile-- exactly!)
But as their trip wears on, his true anger begins to crystalize with angry outbursts. At one point she locks herself in the motel bathroom until he starts banging angrily on the door. When she finally emerges he escorts her to the front door, saying he never wants to see her again, and throws her out. Later that night, he goes looking for her, and they have a boxing match in the middle of the highway, and then crumple into a knot of wrestling figures on the pavement, him crying 'I hate you!' repeatedly.
But while we are witnessing the disintegration of the couple's affections, we are also subtly aware of threatening elements in their environment. A waitress tears the menu away from David after he orders. While they walk down the street, a hateful man shouts at them from a pickup. While they're on dirt road they're suddenly overtaken by a white van which pulls in front of them and slams on the brakes, tearing out again moments later. Though they are barely aware of the locals, it seems that the locals have taken notice of them.
The payoff of this sinister undertone comes suddenly and fiercely, as the white van returns and rams into the back of their car and forces them off the highway. Three rednecks burst from the van and drag the young lovers from their car. Katia's dress is torn off and she's held down by one of the men. The other two men wrestle David to the ground and one of them beats him over the head savagely with a baseball bat. Then they pull his pants down and rape him. Afterwards one of the rednecks has a noisy climax, they abandon the couple and drive off. David is semi-conscious and moaning horribly; Katia is unharmed but devastated.
Back at the hotel room, David quietly sits on the bed, his face swollen grotesquely. Katia is solicitous of David, and asks if they should call the police. He says no. She leaves to get some pizza. When she returns he is shut up in the bathroom. She knocks on the bathroom door and suddenly he bursts from it and forces her down on the bed. He has a knife in his his hand and he plunges it into her chest repeatedly, stabbing her dozens of times. We also see now that the damage to his head is much worse than it appeared from the front-- the back of his scalp has entirely peeled away!
Shortly after the murder, the last shot reveals him dead, naked, in the middle of the desert, a fat patrolman walking around at a distance from the body, calling in the case and saying it looks like the guy has been through a meatgrinder.
What should we make of this violent set of events? The first incident is indeed a random act of violence, perhaps motivated by resentment and envy, we have no way of telling. But the result of the violence is that David is changed from a beautiful young man into a horrible creature. I think it's the destruction of his good looks that drives him over the edge. Katia has awakened from the erotic dream, she's the practical one now, ready to move on to another man. But all David has left is his anger, and he won't let her escape their shared dream that has become a horrible nightmare.
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Twentynine Palms
There's a really good review of this film at IMDB, but I wanted to write my own short take.
****SPOILERS ALERT******
This film isn't exactly The Sixth Sense, but much of its appeal comes from anticipation of an unknown, awful event at the climax. We're going to go into that a little bit here, so this is strictly for folks who've seen the film or who are pretty sure they'll never see it.
The horrific climax is quietly symbolized by an inexplicable action by the protagonist David at the beginning of the film. While driving on the freeway, he takes out a roll of red tape and puts a swatch of tape around the top of the steering wheel. It's unnerving watching him do it, because he's doing it while driving, and because he cradles the tape in his lap (offscreen) while he works, so as a result he's constantly looking down at his crotch and playing with it. It takes several minutes to complete the action. The result of his handiwork is a little strip of red at the zenith of his steering wheel, just as there will a violent act at the climax of this story.
This is a demanding film, and controversial because many in the audience are confounded about what it means. Very little seems to happen besides sex, and the dialog is spare and prosaic. Worse, it seems exploitative, like a softcore porn film with a violent ending. But I think the intent of the film is clear if we have faith in the filmmaker's intentions, and view it as a straightforward picture of real characters in a real situation.
David and Katia are young, good-looking, shallow aesthetes. As such they're by no means far-fetched. In fact, I know someone like David, and I've listened to him describing his travails with his Katia.
The two lovers are united in the desire to live a life akin to an erotic dream. This is especially apparent when they climb naked into the small mountain of desert rocks, and recline on a high flat rock, as if posing for a photo shoot (but quickly realize that they'll get sunburned if they stay like that for long.) They seem unaware of their surroundings, copulating in a hotel swimming pool shortly before being joined by other guests.
Katia seems to be more caught up in this erotic dream than David is. David is often distracted by practical concerns, such as worrying that his car will get scratched by branches on the dirt road in the desert. In fact, Katia, who speaks only French, is slowly driving David crazy with her nonsensical conversation, as when she says her ice cream cone is "not good-- but good." Is she stupid? Slightly insane? My theory is that she doesn't want to let go of the dream-like existence she has with David. She hardly ever refers to him by name, preferring to call him "my love." But she can't fully connect with David. Early in the film she asks him what he's thinking. "Nothing," he says, "I'm just driving." This brings her to tears.
David's hostility and aggression towards Katia builds slowly. Early in the film it seems to be an erotic urge to dominate. While swimming with her, he holds her under the water for an alarming length of time, and when he lets her go she is shocked and fearful of him. She moves to the far end of the pool, her back to him. We watch over her shoulder as he slowly swims towards her (the other review compared him to a stalking crocodile-- exactly!)
But as their trip wears on, his true anger begins to crystalize with angry outbursts. At one point she locks herself in the motel bathroom until he starts banging angrily on the door. When she finally emerges he escorts her to the front door, saying he never wants to see her again, and throws her out. Later that night, he goes looking for her, and they have a boxing match in the middle of the highway, and then crumple into a knot of wrestling figures on the pavement, him crying 'I hate you!' repeatedly.
But while we are witnessing the disintegration of the couple's affections, we are also subtly aware of threatening elements in their environment. A waitress tears the menu away from David after he orders. While they walk down the street, a hateful man shouts at them from a pickup. While they're on dirt road they're suddenly overtaken by a white van which pulls in front of them and slams on the brakes, tearing out again moments later. Though they are barely aware of the locals, it seems that the locals have taken notice of them.
The payoff of this sinister undertone comes suddenly and fiercely, as the white van returns and rams into the back of their car and forces them off the highway. Three rednecks burst from the van and drag the young lovers from their car. Katia's dress is torn off and she's held down by one of the men. The other two men wrestle David to the ground and one of them beats him over the head savagely with a baseball bat. Then they pull his pants down and rape him. Afterwards one of the rednecks has a noisy climax, they abandon the couple and drive off. David is semi-conscious and moaning horribly; Katia is unharmed but devastated.
Back at the hotel room, David quietly sits on the bed, his face swollen grotesquely. Katia is solicitous of David, and asks if they should call the police. He says no. She leaves to get some pizza. When she returns he is shut up in the bathroom. She knocks on the bathroom door and suddenly he bursts from it and forces her down on the bed. He has a knife in his his hand and he plunges it into her chest repeatedly, stabbing her dozens of times. We also see now that the damage to his head is much worse than it appeared from the front-- the back of his scalp has entirely peeled away!
Shortly after the murder, the last shot reveals him dead, naked, in the middle of the desert, a fat patrolman walking around at a distance from the body, calling in the case and saying it looks like the guy has been through a meatgrinder.
What should we make of this violent set of events? The first incident is indeed a random act of violence, perhaps motivated by resentment and envy, we have no way of telling. But the result of the violence is that David is changed from a beautiful young man into a horrible creature. I think it's the destruction of his good looks that drives him over the edge. Katia has awakened from the erotic dream, she's the practical one now, ready to move on to another man. But all David has left is his anger, and he won't let her escape their shared dream that has become a horrible nightmare.
|
****SPOILERS ALERT******
This film isn't exactly The Sixth Sense, but much of its appeal comes from anticipation of an unknown, awful event at the climax. We're going to go into that a little bit here, so this is strictly for folks who've seen the film or who are pretty sure they'll never see it.
The horrific climax is quietly symbolized by an inexplicable action by the protagonist David at the beginning of the film. While driving on the freeway, he takes out a roll of red tape and puts a swatch of tape around the top of the steering wheel. It's unnerving watching him do it, because he's doing it while driving, and because he cradles the tape in his lap (offscreen) while he works, so as a result he's constantly looking down at his crotch and playing with it. It takes several minutes to complete the action. The result of his handiwork is a little strip of red at the zenith of his steering wheel, just as there will a violent act at the climax of this story.
This is a demanding film, and controversial because many in the audience are confounded about what it means. Very little seems to happen besides sex, and the dialog is spare and prosaic. Worse, it seems exploitative, like a softcore porn film with a violent ending. But I think the intent of the film is clear if we have faith in the filmmaker's intentions, and view it as a straightforward picture of real characters in a real situation.
David and Katia are young, good-looking, shallow aesthetes. As such they're by no means far-fetched. In fact, I know someone like David, and I've listened to him describing his travails with his Katia.
The two lovers are united in the desire to live a life akin to an erotic dream. This is especially apparent when they climb naked into the small mountain of desert rocks, and recline on a high flat rock, as if posing for a photo shoot (but quickly realize that they'll get sunburned if they stay like that for long.) They seem unaware of their surroundings, copulating in a hotel swimming pool shortly before being joined by other guests.
Katia seems to be more caught up in this erotic dream than David is. David is often distracted by practical concerns, such as worrying that his car will get scratched by branches on the dirt road in the desert. In fact, Katia, who speaks only French, is slowly driving David crazy with her nonsensical conversation, as when she says her ice cream cone is "not good-- but good." Is she stupid? Slightly insane? My theory is that she doesn't want to let go of the dream-like existence she has with David. She hardly ever refers to him by name, preferring to call him "my love." But she can't fully connect with David. Early in the film she asks him what he's thinking. "Nothing," he says, "I'm just driving." This brings her to tears.
David's hostility and aggression towards Katia builds slowly. Early in the film it seems to be an erotic urge to dominate. While swimming with her, he holds her under the water for an alarming length of time, and when he lets her go she is shocked and fearful of him. She moves to the far end of the pool, her back to him. We watch over her shoulder as he slowly swims towards her (the other review compared him to a stalking crocodile-- exactly!)
But as their trip wears on, his true anger begins to crystalize with angry outbursts. At one point she locks herself in the motel bathroom until he starts banging angrily on the door. When she finally emerges he escorts her to the front door, saying he never wants to see her again, and throws her out. Later that night, he goes looking for her, and they have a boxing match in the middle of the highway, and then crumple into a knot of wrestling figures on the pavement, him crying 'I hate you!' repeatedly.
But while we are witnessing the disintegration of the couple's affections, we are also subtly aware of threatening elements in their environment. A waitress tears the menu away from David after he orders. While they walk down the street, a hateful man shouts at them from a pickup. While they're on dirt road they're suddenly overtaken by a white van which pulls in front of them and slams on the brakes, tearing out again moments later. Though they are barely aware of the locals, it seems that the locals have taken notice of them.
The payoff of this sinister undertone comes suddenly and fiercely, as the white van returns and rams into the back of their car and forces them off the highway. Three rednecks burst from the van and drag the young lovers from their car. Katia's dress is torn off and she's held down by one of the men. The other two men wrestle David to the ground and one of them beats him over the head savagely with a baseball bat. Then they pull his pants down and rape him. Afterwards one of the rednecks has a noisy climax, they abandon the couple and drive off. David is semi-conscious and moaning horribly; Katia is unharmed but devastated.
Back at the hotel room, David quietly sits on the bed, his face swollen grotesquely. Katia is solicitous of David, and asks if they should call the police. He says no. She leaves to get some pizza. When she returns he is shut up in the bathroom. She knocks on the bathroom door and suddenly he bursts from it and forces her down on the bed. He has a knife in his his hand and he plunges it into her chest repeatedly, stabbing her dozens of times. We also see now that the damage to his head is much worse than it appeared from the front-- the back of his scalp has entirely peeled away!
Shortly after the murder, the last shot reveals him dead, naked, in the middle of the desert, a fat patrolman walking around at a distance from the body, calling in the case and saying it looks like the guy has been through a meatgrinder.
What should we make of this violent set of events? The first incident is indeed a random act of violence, perhaps motivated by resentment and envy, we have no way of telling. But the result of the violence is that David is changed from a beautiful young man into a horrible creature. I think it's the destruction of his good looks that drives him over the edge. Katia has awakened from the erotic dream, she's the practical one now, ready to move on to another man. But all David has left is his anger, and he won't let her escape their shared dream that has become a horrible nightmare.
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Webcomics Examiner for September now on view!
Sept. 13, 2004-- Artist Derek Kirk Kim is the focus of a special feature in the September issue of The Webcomics Examiner premiering today. The two part feature includes an assessment of Kim's career by Shaenon Garrity, and a roundtable discussion of his work by the Examiner staff.
The Webcomics Examiner is a monthly forum of reviews, interviews, and critical articles evaluating webcomics as a fine art. The free-access website is at http://webcomicsreview.com.
Roundtable moderator William G. comments, "Derek Kirk Kim has done what few in the world of comics, web or print, have done: He has won the triple crown of a Harvey, Eisner and Ignatz for his his print collection of web-based comics 'Same Difference and Other Stories'." Examiner editor Joe Zabel adds, "In-depth discussion of the medium's best artists is part of The Examiner's mission; this is our first attempt to devote extensive space to an artist of extraordinary abilities."
Garrity (Narbolic) and William G. (It's About Girls) are new contributors to The Examiner this issue. Also new on the roster is Gun Street Girl writer Barb Lien-Cooper, with an editorial titled 'Why Web Comics Have the Same Right to Be Reviewed as Print Comics.'
William G.'s other contribution this issue is a review of Reman Mythology with an innovative approach-- he invites creator Amy Kim Ganter to respond to his criticisms.
Rounding out the issue are reviews of It's All Been Done, Dicebox, Desert Peach, Ballad, and Kagerou, by regular contributors A. G. Hopkins, Mike Meginnis, and Zabel.
Press contact: Joe Zabel, joezabel@webcomicsreview.com
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The Webcomics Examiner is a monthly forum of reviews, interviews, and critical articles evaluating webcomics as a fine art. The free-access website is at http://webcomicsreview.com.
Roundtable moderator William G. comments, "Derek Kirk Kim has done what few in the world of comics, web or print, have done: He has won the triple crown of a Harvey, Eisner and Ignatz for his his print collection of web-based comics 'Same Difference and Other Stories'." Examiner editor Joe Zabel adds, "In-depth discussion of the medium's best artists is part of The Examiner's mission; this is our first attempt to devote extensive space to an artist of extraordinary abilities."
Garrity (Narbolic) and William G. (It's About Girls) are new contributors to The Examiner this issue. Also new on the roster is Gun Street Girl writer Barb Lien-Cooper, with an editorial titled 'Why Web Comics Have the Same Right to Be Reviewed as Print Comics.'
William G.'s other contribution this issue is a review of Reman Mythology with an innovative approach-- he invites creator Amy Kim Ganter to respond to his criticisms.
Rounding out the issue are reviews of It's All Been Done, Dicebox, Desert Peach, Ballad, and Kagerou, by regular contributors A. G. Hopkins, Mike Meginnis, and Zabel.
Press contact: Joe Zabel, joezabel@webcomicsreview.com
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