Rating: 
Summary: This is not a good movie.
Review: Extremely thin (if any) character-development, predictable plot twists, irritating techno score... the filmmakers have the pretension toward a cold, Kubrickian examination of power and violence but not the skill to pull it off.
Rating: 
Summary: LORD OF THE TRIES, MAYBE
Review: First of all, to compare this movie to a classic like Lord of the Flies is like comparing Britney Spears to Vivaldi, so let's get that straight right off the bat. This is no Lord of the Flies. It's not even The Lords of Flatbush. And this "if you don't like it you didn't get it" is another good try, clearly from mostly "plant" reviewers who have some connection to the film or are championing it for ulterior motives, but also does not wash. This is hardly the stuff of deep intellectualism, so let's all stop pretending it is. Look at the primal way humans behave when all pretense is stripped away! How shocking! Let's just file that one in the "Been Done Eight Thousand Times Before, and Done Better" file. This isn't anything new or insightful. Hardly. The fact that ANYONE would even mention this movie in the same breath as Lord of the Flies or Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock is absurd. The film itself is fairly well done, the directing competent and at times quite stylish. The acting comes and goes. Zeke Rippy is actually quite good and by far the most skilled actor in the film. Scott Parrish has an undeniable presence but is just such a studied and awful actor it ruins whatever else he has going on for him. Carolyn Camburn tries to do Veronica Lake-cool here (I'm probably giving her waaay too much credit on that one) but pretty much comes off like a corpse. Being subtle is a good thing (particularly in a film like this where everything is usually over the top), but someone should explain to Ms. Camburn that being in a coma is not the same thing as being cool and aloof. It requires far more talent, depth of understanding and wit than she brings to the role. With the exception of Joanna Bonaro (who is actually quite good in a small role), none of the other actors are even remotely memorable or worth mentioning in any meaningful context. Essentially, what you have here is a very good try from a director who clearly has some talent as a director. The salient word there is "director." He needs to stop writing immediately because the writing here is beyond bad. With more competent writing, a stronger script and overall better acting, THE WIND could have been something terrific, even possibly something as deep and exciting as it's pretending to be now. I hope we haven't heard the last of director Michael Mongillo, as I think he displays tremendous potential here. But that's what it is: potential. At one point in the "extras" section, Mongillo talks about a certain shot that goes on a long while and is quite well done. He says some people thought it went on too long and criticized it, but that if Martin Scorcese had done it everyone would be talking about how brilliant it was. Mr. Mongillo, the reason people talk about how brilliant Scorcese is, is because he IS brilliant and has a bevy of brilliant films to prove it. Go back and watch his films again. They have characters and depth, not just style and guys that look like Gap model rejects trying to act tough in a forest setting. Finally, as small, very low budget independent films go, THE WIND is NOT awful--don't get me wrong, it has its good moments and does have a lot going for it. It's a very good try, but come on, Lord of the Flies? Sure, and MTV is PBS.
Rating: 
Summary: GREAT MOVIE - GREAT MOVIE - GREAT MOVIE
Review: I saw "The Wind" at one of its festival screenings. It's not only better than ANY independent film I've seen in years, it's better than any Hollywood horror-thriller I've seen in years. The acting, the visuals, the story, everything about this movie rocks. It's smart - it's creepy - it's sexy - it's edge-of-your-seat suspense - it's a damn great movie!
Rating:
Summary: maybe 2 and ahalf stars
Review: I saw this film awhile ago but remember it pretty clearly. I would have to categorize it as a "nice try". It definitely has a visual style and a kind of ominous undertone but the weakness of the script hurts it immeasurably. The characters are one dimensional and hollow and their actions have no basis in reality. It seems to be merely an excercise in style. If something like this is what you're after, check out Danny Boyle's Shallow Grave.and PS, what's with the ballot stuffing? These reviews all sound like they came right out of a press release.
Rating:
Summary: Au Courant
Review: Images from this precocious film will haunt you - but not in a mindless Freddy Krueger kind of way. It goes deeper than that - to the darker side within each of us. The part of us that is revealed when we close our eyes and our subconscious takes over. Like William Golding's "Lord of the Flies," this film craftily creeps inside and makes us admit to ourselves that, when the right conditions are present, the visceral animal side takes over and anything can happen. Even more impressive, this film is eerily relevant in our increasingly violent society. Pondering the inexplicably senseless violence exploding daily around the globe I have found myself muttering under my breath, "must be 'The Wind.'"
Rating:
Summary: Compelling drama, despite deceptive marketing from MTI
Review: MTI Home Video should be ashamed for trying to deceive horror buffs, as The Wind is a very dark DRAMA, and quite a strange, oddly compelling one. Those of us that enjoy films like this one would have been speaking out more had the company tried to market it truthfully. The "wind" in this film is a metaphor for society, and is the story of four friends who make some bad choices and how thier lives quickly turn into ones of desperate self-preservation. After going too far in 'teaching a lesson' to one of their own, a death occurs and each person tries to save his/her own standing. Manipulation between them becomes the norm, and by the end we see how self-preservation becomes their main motivation over good judgment. From civilized to savage, basically. The film manages to get messages across without being heavy-handed, though you can spot many symbols and meaningful dialogue throughout. What works well in this film's favor are the "unknown" actors. It works better when you have lesser known, capable actors instead of being distracted by big stars. You can actually get drawn into the story and forget these aren't real people. Use of locations (a forest, wide open fields, cozy homes) all add to the strange feel of another universe entirely. For those of us that "got" the intentions of this film, The Wind is a breath of fresh air (no pun intended) in a time when most films are just made to rake in the bucks and "compete" to be mentioned on Entertainment Tonight as the top film draw of the week. Years later, it's great little films like this one that stay in my mind, not processed blockbusters. Get past the bad marketing ploy from the video distributor, and you must might find this an engaging story indeed. I strongly recommend it to friends that seek out unusual films like this one.
Rating:
Summary: The Wind chills you...!
Review: Smartly written and directed! This film plays with your head in a classic psychological manner (as opposed to the boring, typical hack-and-slash "style" of many current releases). Comparable to epic pieces like Lord Of The Flies, it shows how truly scary the human animal can be when confronted with a situation that backs them up against a wall. The Wind will stay with you long after the actual viewing.
Rating:
Summary: "The Wind" Has Found You
Review: THE WIND is a modern parable in which corruption clearly begets corruption. Amidst the right balance of gripping action and disturbing eroticism, this movie is a thoughtful exploration of violence and mythology. THE WIND dares to avoid contextualizing or moralizing over these grand themes; instead, THE WIND questions what cannot easily be explained: love, lust, jealousy, rage, brutality, good, and evil.
Rating:
Summary: the wind BLOWS
Review: This is quite possibly the worst film. Ever. The acting was dramatically chiche and just plain BAD. The director was attempting artful Quentin Tarantino-like shots, but completely missed. And the soundtrack? I think it happened like this: "Hey guys, I have a friend who has this keyboard and he could totally score this movie if we gave him 15 bucks."
And the whole, "If you don't like The Wind, you totally don't get it" thing doesn't hold water. The script is completely unengaging besides the fact that it doesn't even much sense. So, if you like, rent or buy this movie if you don't mind paying good $$ to waste 2 hours of your life that you will never get back.
Rating:
Summary: Idiot Wind
Review: This is the single-worst movie I have ever had the misfortune of watching. It is not horrifying, it is not compelling. It is not intelligent. I find it very hard to believe that the good reviews are legitimate. The movie stars out with an interesting introduction, and then turns into a high-school-film-class quality production. there is no story to speak of, the acting was bad, the directing was bad, the editing was terrible. Certain scenes were remarkably drawn out into unbearable torture (the scene with the female character loping gaily through a field, for example). Yeah, I "get" the point of the movie. You don't have to be an Einstein to figure out that Mongillo was aiming toward some kind of Lord of the Flies psyche piece, but it fails miserably.
I will now risk being cliched and say, "The Wind Blows!"
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