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Vigil -
New Zealander director Vincent Ward's first movie is one of the most impressive debuts I've seen. Set on a sheep farm in an otherworldly valley that could only be in that country, we watch budding teenager Lisa process a tragedy that forces her to transition from childhood to adulthood much too quickly. As is typical of the director, it's largely a journey in which she contemplates spirituality and mortality. Hastening and complicating her journey is Ethan, a mysterious drifter and new employee of the farm who may or may not be responsible for the tragedy.
One quality of the movie I find to be a strength is that it doesn't fit into any one genre. Like The Spirit of the Beehive, which it reminds me of a lot, you could label it as horror, mystery, drama or coming of age and you would not be wrong. I also appreciate that it's free of the sentimentality typically found in the latter genre. Instead, the overriding vibes of the movie are shock and confusion. This is appropriate given Lisa, her mother and her grandfather having to adjust to a new situation, but the vibes hit hardest while Lisa tries to decipher just who Ethan is and his intentions. Their relationship is indeed the most important and interesting one in the movie and the one from which its most interesting themes arise, whether it's how distant, unhelpful and unknowable adults can be to children or that God can be to anyone. It helps that Frank Whitten is very good as Ethan, especially for how he never shows his hand. The movie's secret weapon, however, is in the cinematography by a veteran you may not have heard of, but whose work you've probably seen: Alun Bollinger, who helped make the Lord of the Rings movies look as good as they do. Besides the way he accentuates New Zealand's natural beauty, he makes Ward's spiritual themes resonate - a shot of Ethan in front of a window while clouds are reflected against him especially resonates - and I approve of how he makes the farm a place where life and death are always side by side. All in all, the movie succeeds at depicting the process of transitioning to adulthood and all the pain, fear and confusion and that comes with it. While it may not be the most entertaining movie in the traditional sense, it left me feeling enriched, with more to think about and the feeling that I've witnessed something beautiful.
New Zealander director Vincent Ward's first movie is one of the most impressive debuts I've seen. Set on a sheep farm in an otherworldly valley that could only be in that country, we watch budding teenager Lisa process a tragedy that forces her to transition from childhood to adulthood much too quickly. As is typical of the director, it's largely a journey in which she contemplates spirituality and mortality. Hastening and complicating her journey is Ethan, a mysterious drifter and new employee of the farm who may or may not be responsible for the tragedy.
One quality of the movie I find to be a strength is that it doesn't fit into any one genre. Like The Spirit of the Beehive, which it reminds me of a lot, you could label it as horror, mystery, drama or coming of age and you would not be wrong. I also appreciate that it's free of the sentimentality typically found in the latter genre. Instead, the overriding vibes of the movie are shock and confusion. This is appropriate given Lisa, her mother and her grandfather having to adjust to a new situation, but the vibes hit hardest while Lisa tries to decipher just who Ethan is and his intentions. Their relationship is indeed the most important and interesting one in the movie and the one from which its most interesting themes arise, whether it's how distant, unhelpful and unknowable adults can be to children or that God can be to anyone. It helps that Frank Whitten is very good as Ethan, especially for how he never shows his hand. The movie's secret weapon, however, is in the cinematography by a veteran you may not have heard of, but whose work you've probably seen: Alun Bollinger, who helped make the Lord of the Rings movies look as good as they do. Besides the way he accentuates New Zealand's natural beauty, he makes Ward's spiritual themes resonate - a shot of Ethan in front of a window while clouds are reflected against him especially resonates - and I approve of how he makes the farm a place where life and death are always side by side. All in all, the movie succeeds at depicting the process of transitioning to adulthood and all the pain, fear and confusion and that comes with it. While it may not be the most entertaining movie in the traditional sense, it left me feeling enriched, with more to think about and the feeling that I've witnessed something beautiful.