Carnage

Rating:
Summary: Indulgent, Maddenig, Elliptical Narrative - But Little Magic
Review: Carnage, Delphine Glieze's first foray into full length film making, is notable for winning a number of minor european film festival awards, and though its dutiful, esoteric artiness may impress film festival judges, Carnage will likely leave something to be desired for the rest of the hoi poloi. Other reviews will give you the bare bones plot synopsis (though there is little plot to speak of), so I'll simply mention the striking opacity of the film's narrative quality and emotionality. The puzzle-like structure of the film requires the viewer pay particular attention to repetitions of images and themes which re-echo throughout the multiple, vaguely associated storylines, yet even after two hours of focused attention, it isn't at all clear what, if anything, the bits and pieces add up to. The viewer, who simply strings along while the film lurches in multiple directions, becomes more of calculating observer, trying on and discarding possible meanings like so many hats. Impatience soon sets in, and by film's end, if one is dissatisfied with the possible meanings one they've come up with, the question becomes "have I failed the film, or has the film failed me?"

Rating:
Summary: Bizarre and pretentious
Review: I had no idea that "Carnage" was a couple of years old. I just caught the afternoon matinee showing of the film at my local landmark theater. I was expecting to be entertained but instead what I got was a surreal yet pretentious film with no plot. The *alleged* plot revolves the remains of a bull that was killed after he gores a young toreador. The bull's remains is sent to Spain, France, and Belgium. From that point on there are 5 different stories taking place, well if you want to call them stories. I thought they were nothing more than a bunch of incoherant ramblings poorly pieced together and with no point what so ever. In some eery way, two of the 5 stories had some sort of connection with each other. What really bothered me the most about this film was that there was no point in the film other than the death of a bull and where its remains goes. The film was very surreal but not in a good way. There is good surrealism in films (see "Muholland Drive") and then there is bad surrealism (see "Carnage"). There are only two things I like about this movie...the first is the music. The latin music sounded like it would be perfect for the Barlotti compilation, very mellow yet not too mellow. And the second were the actors involved in the film. All the actors gave fine performances. It's too bad the script was terrible. Normally I do enjoy a good foreign film but "Carnage" ain't one of them. If you like pretentious art flicks, "Carnage is for you but if you prefer quality, substance and a plot that makes sense then I strongly suggest to look somewhere else.

Rating:
Summary: The power of the bull.
Review: I love watching foreign films therefore I've been looking forward to watching CARNAGE since it was released in DVD. But now that I've seen it I regret my initial anticipations. In short, this film was a big disappointment. The premise is interesting but the execution is flawed and well...boring. At the center of CARNAGE is a bull named Romero that was killed after fighting in a bullfight in Spain. Afterwards each individual who comes into contact with Romero's remains are affected, and sometimes in drastic terms. This film is full of eccentric characters that sometimes border on the absurd, such as a mother and son who live in a remote trailer who acquires the bull's horns and the young child who has an extra-perceptual "gift" who feeds a bone from the bull to her overgrown dog. This film is also graphic. There are many scenes that made me squirm such as the slaughtering of the bull and the odd man who studied the bull's eyeballs (what was his story anyway?). There is so much substance that either doesn't make sense or are so peculiar that it befuddles the mind, and coincidences are abundant and relied upon. With a running time of over two hours I couldn't wait for the ending and kept stealing glances at the clock. Not recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Want a movie that makes you think?
Review: Others are writing that this movie has no plot, and yes there are little plot that intertangle without any kind overall climax (but each ending will surprise you). This movie is about humanity, pure and simple. Laugh, cringe, and do a double take. Recommended for fans of Memento, 21 grams, and He Loves Me He Loves Me not.

Rating:
Summary: Want a movie that makes you think?
Review: Others are writing that this movie has no plot, and yes there are little plot that intertangle without any kind overall climax (but each ending will surprise you). This movie is about humanity, pure and simple. Laugh, cringe, and do a double take. Recommended for fans of Memento, 21 grams, and He Loves Me He Loves Me not.

Rating:
Summary: "It's a moment when all doubts vanish."
Review: The film "Carnage" blends together the lives of various characters who are all connected by the body parts of a dead bull. The bull is killed in a bullfight, and then the various bits are sold and dispersed across several countries.

The various characters include:
-Carlotta (Chiara Mastroianni), an insecure young actress
-A bizarre old taxidermist and her ungroomed son who live in a squalid trailer
-An obnoxious scientist and his pregnant wife
-A married couple and their only child, Winnie (Raphaelle Molinier)
-Alicia (Angela Molina), a mother with a mysterious past & her schoolteacher daughter
-A young bullfighter

The film's themes are life and death. Several births take place, and several deaths occur throughout the film--the emphasis is on the cycle of life and rejuvenation. Characters who are intimately connected seem to experience difficulty understanding one another. Winnie's teacher, Jeanne, for example, can't understand why Winnie keeps drawing her dog bigger than humans, and she insists that Winnie needs to be more accurate. Winnie, a silent, observant child who suffers from epilepsy, doesn't bother to explain to her teacher that her pet dog, a Great Dane, is indeed bigger than she is. Similarly Jeanne and her mother, Alicia never really discuss the very serious problems in their relationship--although Jeanne lobs several snide barbs at her mother whenever there's an opening. The actress, Carlotta, seems to be experiencing problems connecting even with herself, and so she's attending classes to help change that. Some of the other characters--the taxidermist and her son, for example--are just too bizarre and too unpleasant to contemplate.

I have never had the best luck with films in which a physical object is tracked as it changes hands ("Red Violin", for example). I tend to find these films somewhat pieced together, and "Carnage" is exactly that--there are moments in the film which are excellent, but the film seems to become more fragmented as it progresses. Scenes that seem totally unconnected to everything else (the burn victims choir, for example) don't exactly add to the cohesion. The film includes footage of bullfighting, scenes in an abattoir and scenes involving taxidermy. The soundtrack is excellent, and the DVD also includes 2 short films from the same director, "Dirtie Basteroz" and "A Castle in Spain". Overall, this is an artful film--perhaps too artful. While I can't say that I enjoyed it very much, I won't automatically dismiss other work from the director, Delphine Glieze. In French, Spanish, Italian and Polish with English subtitles--displacedhuman

Rating:
Summary: Truth is stranger than fiction...
Review: While this film doesn't aspire to foist a "truth" upon the viewer, it perhaps best understood as an exercise in following a thread, seeing where it leads and how it intertwines with the different chracters presented in the film--interesting, but with inherent limitations. I give four stars for great casting, excellent music and cinematography, and scope of the issues covered. A good first film; hopefully things can only get better.

Rating:
Summary: Great film, new cinema
Review: With this film, I had to work through it, but the reward is well worth the effort. Magical coincidences connect people that seem so distant from each other, characters so different, and yet so similar. The film is full of symbolism. I especially liked the scene when the mother in the trailer dies and the captured animals escape, the trailer is bursting with life that the mother had freed by her death. The film is full of misterious connections, and it is well worth exploring these connections.

The style is not continuous, but still descriptive. I can only compare it with CODE UNKNOWN by Michael Haneke. If you liked CODE UNKNOWN there is a big chance you will like this one as well.