The Island • Островът (2011)
Genre: Drama
Director: Kamen Kalev
Starring: Thure Lindhardt, Laetitia Casta
Language: English, French, Bulgarian
Duration: 95 min.
Summary:
A young and happy Parisian couple spend their vacation on a small island in the Black Sea off the coast of Bulgaria.
The Island is a film written and directed by Bulgarian filmmaker Kamen Kalev. It premiered in the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.
An interesting but flawed experimental second film from Kalev. This one lulls us at first with a mundane psychological study of a young couple, Daneel (Danish actor, Thure Lindhardt), and Sophie (French actress Laetitia Casta), as they go on a surprise trip to Bulgaria. Then an hour or so later, the film and Daneel, take a sudden plunge off the cliffs, taking us into unexpected territory.
It's a bold switch of tone and direction that really comes out of nowhere, and makes this otherwise forgettable picture maybe worth having a look at, but in my opinion is too drastic and too muddled, to really engage the audience.
As well, Lindhardt and Casta aren't strong enough actors and don't seem to have the chemistry required to make us care about them as a couple. Maybe because most of the dialog is in English, and neither of them are native speakers, but line deliveries and conversations are exceedingly awkward.
There are scattered moments of brilliance, an amusing usage of Tom Waits' Clap Hands, and some vivid cinematography that showcases the picturesque island location. There's also a pleasant cameo in the opening scene from Chilean cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky (the main reason I was interested in the film). I do applaud Kalev for his ambition, and for taking a chance at trying something new. However, the parts are all too sloppily put together to resonate as a whole.
An interesting but flawed experimental second film from Kalev. This one lulls us at first with a mundane psychological study of a young couple, Daneel (Danish actor, Thure Lindhardt), and Sophie (French actress Laetitia Casta), as they go on a surprise trip to Bulgaria. Then an hour or so later, the film and Daneel, take a sudden plunge off the cliffs, taking us into unexpected territory.
It's a bold switch of tone and direction that really comes out of nowhere, and makes this otherwise forgettable picture maybe worth having a look at, but in my opinion is too drastic and too muddled, to really engage the audience.
As well, Lindhardt and Casta aren't strong enough actors and don't seem to have the chemistry required to make us care about them as a couple. Maybe because most of the dialog is in English, and neither of them are native speakers, but line deliveries and conversations are exceedingly awkward.
There are scattered moments of brilliance, an amusing usage of Tom Waits' Clap Hands, and some vivid cinematography that showcases the picturesque island location. There's also a pleasant cameo in the opening scene from Chilean cult director Alejandro Jodorowsky (the main reason I was interested in the film). I do applaud Kalev for his ambition, and for taking a chance at trying something new. However, the parts are all too sloppily put together to resonate as a whole.
— Bonjour Tristesse
4 comments:
Interesting read. I think I will leave this one then BT, as you are the wealth of all knowledge and you know what I like...
There's nothing going in favor of me watching this right now. It sounds like the type of movie I watch when I'm flicking through Showtime and there's absolutely nothing better on.
Yeah you should probably steer clear from this one.
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