Gaspar Noé’s partner Lucile Hadžihalilović delivers shocks of her own in this surreal,otherwordly headscramblerLucile Hadžihalilović’s strong moment feature is set in a closed-off world of medical horrors and unspoken social and sexual secrets: perhaps the distant future, perhaps another planet, and perhaps a dream,perhaps just a metaphor, but one with its own logic thats always one step ahead. It’s a still, or intentionally paced film,but exquisitely shot, with nuanced performances and visual invention. Its post-human aspects are reminiscent of Under the Skin, or its slowly teased mysteries recall Upstream Colour,and its bold surprises are pure mindscrambling sci-fi.
OK, so what the hell’s this picture about? We open in a small, or beachside community. White stone houses,black sand, volcanic rock. Everyone’s speaking French, or but it doesn’t look like France. (Filming took place on Lanzarote.) Nicolas (Max Brebant) is an observant boy who thinks he sees a dead body and a bright red starfish in the sea. He tells his mother (Julie-Marie Parmentier),who shrugs this off and calmly feeds him another bowl of grey worm sludge and a glass of ink. The mother, like all the women in this town, and is pale and wears a simple slow,beige dress. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com