For this first busy weekday, I selected three very heterogeneous films, the sum of which amounted to very little. While I had high expectations for One Hundred Years of Evil, which I foresaw as Zelig starring Hitler (instead of that notorious Jew littering the screen with subversive tomfoolery), I was quite disappointed with the final product, a mix bag of unresolved ideas. Then there was Midnight Son, which I caught scant seconds after leaving my plate at the Chinese restaurant opposite the Norris building. To my surprise, the screening was sold-out, and so I found myself sitting smack in the middle of the first row, experiencing the film as though I had brought binoculars to the theater. But that didn't spoil my fun, for while it was amateurishly produced, the film scored big points for so brazenly deconstructing the vampire mythos. As for The Wicker Tree, it turned out to be a rather flavorless sequel to Hardy's own 1973 marvel, The Wicker Man, the decrease in quality being mostly attributable to the absence of Anthony Shaffer's clever pen. Fortunately, while I wasn't completely satisfied with the line-up for that 6th day, I was happy to have found company for the first and last screenings of the day in a pair of friends willing to share the giddy thrills of the festival for a spell. The two of them faithfully waited for me, doing God knows what, while I attended the second screening. Why they weren't drawn to the antics of yet another emo vampire onscreen is beyond me...
FILMS SEEN
FILMS SEEN
One Hundred Years of Evil
Amazing premise is marred by over-ambitious intentions. The result is a mockumentary containing many intriguing, but unresolved ideas and a far too dramatic approach to some extravagant material. The contention here is that Hitler didn't actually die in his bunker after WW2, but was deported to the US instead, where he became a private citizen who took part in a jarring number of avant-gardist projects, including the scripting of the very first TV soap opera, the invention of fast food and the creation of a backyard space program, the traces of which are still very vivid today. Unfortunately, this unlikely premise is constrained by a very restrictive dramatic canvas elaborated around the two filmmakers' quest for truth, delineated using a dead serious video diary approach. Playing for big laughs and some engrossing emotional lows as well, Years manages to create no definite identity for itself.
As the two protagonists investigate the trail of bread crumbs left by the Fuhrer, the number of humorous vignettes concerning Hitler's contribution to Americana multiply, but they fail to successfully integrate the highly dramatic main storyline, most of them being shown only in passing in order to accommodate the over-saturated run-time. Concerned mostly with narrative digressions, the film even loses sight of its narrative cornerstone, a computer program meant to determine from facial expressions whether a subject is lying or not. Devised by one of the protagonists, this invention is what compels him to investigate Hitler's background. But it disappears from the narrative right after its introduction, as many of the film's most interesting gimmicks which are thrown in the mix only to be removed momentarily. Crude play on words (such as Cryo-Putsch, a cryogenic lab where Hitler's remains are preserved) doesn't help the film establish a much-needed sense of credibility, establishing instead just how superficial the humor here really is.
THUMBS DOWNAs the two protagonists investigate the trail of bread crumbs left by the Fuhrer, the number of humorous vignettes concerning Hitler's contribution to Americana multiply, but they fail to successfully integrate the highly dramatic main storyline, most of them being shown only in passing in order to accommodate the over-saturated run-time. Concerned mostly with narrative digressions, the film even loses sight of its narrative cornerstone, a computer program meant to determine from facial expressions whether a subject is lying or not. Devised by one of the protagonists, this invention is what compels him to investigate Hitler's background. But it disappears from the narrative right after its introduction, as many of the film's most interesting gimmicks which are thrown in the mix only to be removed momentarily. Crude play on words (such as Cryo-Putsch, a cryogenic lab where Hitler's remains are preserved) doesn't help the film establish a much-needed sense of credibility, establishing instead just how superficial the humor here really is.
Midnight Son
Timely and surprisingly relevant low-budget vampire film equates the downfall of bloodsuckers with the weakening of the North American male. Read full review here.
THUMBS UP
The Wicker Tree
A couple of born-again Christians from the Bible Belt are chosen to try and convert pagan Scots, with somewhat predictable results, in this "spiritual" sequel to The Wicker Man. Instead of the subtle, spiritual humor and flawlessly executed plan devised by the clever heathens from the original film, Robin Hardy chooses instead to make a full-blown farce of it all, brushing broad caricatures of both his protagonists and antagonists, and nearly removing all the charm from the enterprise, which, one is sad to realize, could be imputed almost solely to the fine penmanship of playwright Anthony Shaffer. Revisiting nearly every previous theme, Hardy makes all shadowy or ambiguous narrative cogs so obvious as to dispel the whole mystical aura surrounding the series. And while the ending provides a clever update on the original, while a few jokes hit home, the ensemble ultimately feels unworthy to stand beside the 1973 cult classic. Obviously, the aim here is to mock the many received ideas forced upon unsuspecting lambs by American Christian groups , an enterprise doomed to failure considering how few Americans are likely to see, let alone enjoy, the film. That said, setting up the film in removed Scotland doesn't help to get the point across either, but forces comparison with the first film instead. Which isn't such a great idea considering how derivative and underwhelming the current project is.
AMBIVALENT THUMBS DOWN