Panzram
06-27-2004, 04:18 AM
REVIEW SUMMARY
Starring Maurice Benichou, Béatrice Dalle, Isabelle Huppert, Patrice Chéreau, Lucas Biscombe. Directed by Michael Haneke. (NR, 113 minutes).
In this minimalist disaster movie, an unspecified ecological catastrophe has disrupted modern life, and some of the survivors, huddled together in a bleak corner of the French countryside, struggle to hold on to the trappings of civilization. Food and water are scarce, and so is kindness, which the director Michael Haneke rations out with elegant sang-froid. The movie is rigorously harsh, and its view of human nature is as dark as the cinematography, which forces you to discern human features in twilight, deep fog and utter darkness. Isabelle Huppert, who played the unhinged musician in Mr. Haneke's "Piano Teacher," is a mother trying to protect her two children and her own sense of identity amid chaos and desperation. Mr. Haneke's formal control is impressive, but his steely resistance to sensationalism or sentimentality can be repellent. You may find yourself horrified and disturbed by this all-too-plausible nightmare — and shamed by the thought that, in some parts of the world, it represents real life — without being especially moved by it. — A. O. Scott, The New York Times
Starring Maurice Benichou, Béatrice Dalle, Isabelle Huppert, Patrice Chéreau, Lucas Biscombe. Directed by Michael Haneke. (NR, 113 minutes).
In this minimalist disaster movie, an unspecified ecological catastrophe has disrupted modern life, and some of the survivors, huddled together in a bleak corner of the French countryside, struggle to hold on to the trappings of civilization. Food and water are scarce, and so is kindness, which the director Michael Haneke rations out with elegant sang-froid. The movie is rigorously harsh, and its view of human nature is as dark as the cinematography, which forces you to discern human features in twilight, deep fog and utter darkness. Isabelle Huppert, who played the unhinged musician in Mr. Haneke's "Piano Teacher," is a mother trying to protect her two children and her own sense of identity amid chaos and desperation. Mr. Haneke's formal control is impressive, but his steely resistance to sensationalism or sentimentality can be repellent. You may find yourself horrified and disturbed by this all-too-plausible nightmare — and shamed by the thought that, in some parts of the world, it represents real life — without being especially moved by it. — A. O. Scott, The New York Times