Next greatest blind-buy: “
Buried.”
Uh huh, I bought a movie about a guy stuck in a box…
There’s something freaky about being buried alive. The claustrophobia, the limited air supply, the darkness, all leading up to an inevitable demise that might never be discovered above-ground. This film takes the premise (which was already explored rather well in a certain CSI episode
) and tacks on some huge helpings of drama and tension to keep this movie from being dull. In the hands of a lesser director, this could have easily become rather tiresome. But as it is, the film is stylish, and it manages to keep interest, despite its inherent limitations.
The story is partly to thank for keeping things lively. It takes a simple premise of a man finding himself buried alive, and layers on one thing after another so that a solid story can be built. The story (and the camera) never actually leaves the coffin at any point, but you can get a good sense of what’s going on outside with the phone conversations and the character’s dialogue. The character is pretty real, and it’s easy to relate to him. I wonder if the film is meant to convey some sort of political message (…probably
).
The movie is well-made. Even though it’s production value only boils down to a guy in a box with a phone and lots of dirt, the photography and editing make it look special, the acting and writing are swell, and as far as the production value goes, it is a slick-looking box, and they got a decent phone for the guy
. Music is quite good too.
Yep, this is one of those movies that’s simple in concept but complex in execution, and generally reminds me of something from Hitchcock.
4/5 (entertainment: 4/5, story: 4/5, film: 4.5/5)
Recommendation:
Sure, why not?
Foggy mentioned that this British Blu-Ray doesn’t have the right OAR, so I have no clue if anything’s being cut from the screen. As it is, the film looks and sounds great.
PQ: 4/5, AQ: 4/5
As a nice little bonus, this HMV-exclusive disc also came with another great blind-buy: “
The Contestant.”
While “Buried” offers a decent emotional experience, Rodrigo Cortes’ debut film engages the other side of the brain. “The Contestant” is short, but jam-packed with loads of style, and loads of insane exposition that analyzes the core concept to the extreme, and then extrapolates certain truths about human commerce and society. It goes on to portray modern society in a critical light, and infers a conspiracy theory that seems interesting (I have no idea if it really holds water though; a proper economist might know), and gives the film a lot of manic paranoid energy. This movie is like the bastard child between “Amelie” and “Pi.”
The story intrigues me; it is inherently ironic to see a game show winner have to give up everything he owns to taxes and debt (and in today’s debt-ridden world, it’s quite relevant). As it goes on, it digs up plenty of interesting factoids and point-of-views. There are moments where I feel this film could be used in a class for either math or economics 101. But it’s not dry at all; the story is structured in a solid fashion, and the characters are very lively and decently-developed. It has a certain invoking power of its own, but it probably won’t resonate as strongly as “Buried” does.
The film is very slick, with awesome photography and some very wild editing. The running narrative keeps things alive and kicking. Acting and writing are great. Production design shows some weaknesses, but still shows some great sets, props, costumes, and special effects. Music is way cool.
This may seem blasphemous, but I enjoyed “The Contestant” better than “Buried.”
4.5/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 4/5, film: 4.5/5)
Recommendation:
Yes.
The disc containing both movies is region-locked.
Between these two films, I think Rodrigo Cortes will be a name to look out for.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
). It’s populated with characters who often act unreasonably, and offer very little depth. The key theme to the movie is the search, documentation, and dissemination of the truth (hence the reporter-style camerawork), and the narrative helps reinforce this idea. But ultimately, the film doesn’t resonate as well as other films in this genre.
Writing is okay at best, not great. Production value shows interesting locales, and average sets, props, costumes, and a few iffy special effects. Music is kinda bad.
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