Fractured 'Line'
The film "Antonia's Line" was recently recommended to me, so I thought I would check it out and then review it.
The title, Antonia's Line, does not refer to her queue, or her boundary, or her cocaine habit (now that would have made a more interesting film); Antonia's "line" is her lineage, or set of female descendants. The film opens with an older woman pacing around her bedroom as the voiceover narrates, "Antonia knew she was going to die by the end of the day, she felt well - but she knew when enough was enough". Initially, there seems to be no problem here. However, this ultimately seems a bit odd, and contrary, since the film strives to deal with the mysteries of life (its cyclical nature) and death, yet has a character who makes a completely unnatural decision to die at a premeditated moment.
This is just the beginning of the filmmaker's obvious manipulations as she sacrifices the authenticity of her ostensibly "genuine" characters to push her own political views. Feminism and liberalism are completely legitimate, and refreshingly open-minded, movements to participate in, but what they both stress is the power of choice, and Gorris refuses to give her characters choices. With the exception of the town's cynical quasi-philosopher, most of the men are rapists or brainless pigs, of course. This film is basically plotless, but it needs no plot in order to force its agenda, umm, I mean -- tell its multigenerational story of strong-willed women. Fortunately, the slight semblance of a plot is hardly a concern; however, its alarming lack of cohesion is very detrimental.
The philosophy of time is briefly discussed, and coincidentally, it seems as if the characters themselves often defy time. I am quite sure the film's budget could have afforded better make-up.
As much as I wince when I hear the term, "Oscar bait", I can't help but recognize that this is the type of film, unlike a Ron Howard film, that aims (and slightly panders) directly at the codger-filled old-school Best Foreign Language Film (an award it unsurprisingly won) voting body. I wouldn't be shocked if Gorris had a clipboard with a checklist at her side as she wrote the screenplay. Overt Politics? Check. Ambiguous Sexuality? Check. Esoteric Allusions? Check. Self-righteous characters? Check. Precocious children? Check. Questioning of Religion? Check. Pseudo-witty, cheeky dialogue? Check. I will give the film credit for being ambitious in certain respects, but its type of feigned audacity is downright condescending.
Even agreeing with the certain politics of the film, the presentation is completely off-putting and forced. Throughout the production, the overly polemic Antonia has too much fun flaunting itself as it occasionally places its toe over the line and lets out an annoyingly frivolous giggle. C
The title, Antonia's Line, does not refer to her queue, or her boundary, or her cocaine habit (now that would have made a more interesting film); Antonia's "line" is her lineage, or set of female descendants. The film opens with an older woman pacing around her bedroom as the voiceover narrates, "Antonia knew she was going to die by the end of the day, she felt well - but she knew when enough was enough". Initially, there seems to be no problem here. However, this ultimately seems a bit odd, and contrary, since the film strives to deal with the mysteries of life (its cyclical nature) and death, yet has a character who makes a completely unnatural decision to die at a premeditated moment.
This is just the beginning of the filmmaker's obvious manipulations as she sacrifices the authenticity of her ostensibly "genuine" characters to push her own political views. Feminism and liberalism are completely legitimate, and refreshingly open-minded, movements to participate in, but what they both stress is the power of choice, and Gorris refuses to give her characters choices. With the exception of the town's cynical quasi-philosopher, most of the men are rapists or brainless pigs, of course. This film is basically plotless, but it needs no plot in order to force its agenda, umm, I mean -- tell its multigenerational story of strong-willed women. Fortunately, the slight semblance of a plot is hardly a concern; however, its alarming lack of cohesion is very detrimental.
The philosophy of time is briefly discussed, and coincidentally, it seems as if the characters themselves often defy time. I am quite sure the film's budget could have afforded better make-up.
As much as I wince when I hear the term, "Oscar bait", I can't help but recognize that this is the type of film, unlike a Ron Howard film, that aims (and slightly panders) directly at the codger-filled old-school Best Foreign Language Film (an award it unsurprisingly won) voting body. I wouldn't be shocked if Gorris had a clipboard with a checklist at her side as she wrote the screenplay. Overt Politics? Check. Ambiguous Sexuality? Check. Esoteric Allusions? Check. Self-righteous characters? Check. Precocious children? Check. Questioning of Religion? Check. Pseudo-witty, cheeky dialogue? Check. I will give the film credit for being ambitious in certain respects, but its type of feigned audacity is downright condescending.
Even agreeing with the certain politics of the film, the presentation is completely off-putting and forced. Throughout the production, the overly polemic Antonia has too much fun flaunting itself as it occasionally places its toe over the line and lets out an annoyingly frivolous giggle. C