tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post1310630094417324800..comments2024-03-12T12:38:23.542-04:00Comments on The Kind of Face You Hate: A Place Behind God's Backbill r.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-89732212569729558012010-02-06T12:27:11.359-05:002010-02-06T12:27:11.359-05:00John -
Indeed it's very possible that I'...John - <br /><br /><i> Indeed it's very possible that I'm thinking of some piece of Euro crap I watched a month ago with no relation to Sauna at all, like Cold Prey 2 or something</i>...<br /><br />With all respect, I think you might be. In the big scene in the sauna, it's true that you don't know quite what's going on, but not because the camera is whizzing around. It's very steady, in fact, even stationary. What you can't see is hidden due to framing, and that's as it should be. If you saw everything, it would be less effective and mysterious.<br /><br />The camera does jitter now and then, but that's hardly the film's style. It's a choice made for a particular moment, but otherwise camera movement is pretty restrained.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-64687275615847529592010-02-06T10:51:34.325-05:002010-02-06T10:51:34.325-05:00It has been a while since I saw Sauna, and I proba...It has been a while since I saw Sauna, and I probably should watch it again before saying anything else about it. But while I liked it well enough, I guess I just felt its strengths, it's enigmatic qualities, that you addressed above, Bill, could have been better realized.<br /><br />Not that I need gore or violence lingered on, but maybe some of the eerier images could have been better visualized or built up towards more suspensefully. All the action inside the actual sauna, as far as I can remember, was pretty much a blur, and the choppy editing and closeup zig-zagging camerawork didn't much help matters. I'm not saying that kind of thing can't be done with some success, just that it very rarely seems to be, and without a solid sense of place and threat and anticipatory dread it usually ends up looking pretty anticlimactic.<br /><br />But like I said, it has been a while, so I'm not completely certain my recollections of this movie are in any way accurate. Indeed it's very possible that I'm thinking of some piece of Euro crap I watched a month ago with no relation to Sauna at all, like Cold Prey 2 or something. So take all the with an extra few grains of salt, maybe, just to be safe.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05364322006357208797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-81538330422249391042010-02-06T10:12:41.748-05:002010-02-06T10:12:41.748-05:00Tony, John's right - it very much has a STALKE...Tony, John's right - it very much has a STALKER feel to it, and I meant to mention that, didn't, and then couldn't find my way to cram it in after a proof-read. But certain shots of the sauna itself could have come directly from STALKER.<br /><br />John - Well, the film ain't perfect. I wasn't crazy about the occasional jittery camera either, but the film's last half hour, I think, makes it. I don't know how much longer the horror images in that section should have been lingered over. Maybe a bit more would have made it all even more effective, but at the end I didn't find myself wishing for that. The film's primary horror image (which, by the way, pops right up if you search for images of SAUNA on Google, so I recommend not doing that if you haven't seen the film) carries such an impact as it stands that I don't feel like I'd want to mess with that.<br /><br />If you mean lingering at other times, well, maybe. I can't say it felt that way as I watched it, however.bill r.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17748572205731857892noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-37241000439677443932010-02-06T10:04:15.504-05:002010-02-06T10:04:15.504-05:00Interesting comparisons. It also felt a little lik...Interesting comparisons. It also felt a little like Stalker to me at times.<br /><br />However, I was mostly disappointed by the visual style (esp. the occasional spot of intrusively wobbly camerawork, shaky-cam's only slightly less obnoxious little brother) and the sloppy, rushed-feeling presentation of some of the horror scenes.<br /><br />If nothing else, this movie could have been a haunting visual marvel surpassing anything Del Toro has done, but that requires not only an eye for intriguing visuals but also the willingness to linger at times, whether to leave a stronger impression or simply to vary the rhythm, to keep the watcher guessing, and the makers of this movie didn't seem to have enough of either to make for something truly memorable.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05364322006357208797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2856547151523423474.post-27653427669325300982010-02-06T08:44:40.754-05:002010-02-06T08:44:40.754-05:00Maybe it's because of all the talk over at Gre...Maybe it's because of all the talk over at Greg's blog, but am I right in assuming that this movie has a Bergmanesque feel to it?<br /><br />Your piece is evocative of THE SEVENTH SEAL and THE VIRGIN SPRING.Tony Dayoubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04632329277519635858noreply@blogger.com