YELLOWBRICKROAD is really uneven. A stunning period set up (a town in New Hampshire walked into the woods in 1940, many never to return, some were found dead and with only a sole survivor. In 2010 the documents on the event are declassified and some people stupidly head into the woods on what is called the Yellowbrickroad.
For me the first half of the film is really good. As the group wanders into the wilderness a great tension is built up.
The trouble is the film swerves into even stranger territory once the bodies start piling up (for no real reason except to get us toward the end) and the film deteriorates despite the fact that there are some truly amazing sequences. The film, like the films it echoes (Stalker, R-Point, The Bunker and a few others) simply gets to a point where the weirdness can't be sustained, partly because it looses internal logic and partly because it becomes clear it has no way to bring it all together in an ending that works. Worse the film splits the group up into parts and the further fractures of the plot line weaken things further. Yes, the film continues to amaze on an individual scene basis it unfortunately never hangs together with the final denouncement being less than it could have been (though it has a wicked final image). I love the parts- they just never put it together with the result it all falls down.
I need to say that the sound design of this film is one of the most amazing I've ever seen. Its a reason to see this in a good theater on a big screen simply because I have yet to see a home theater system that will ever match seeing this in a theater. Basically if you can't see this with a great sound system the film's audio track will have little effect on you and weaken an already tenuous second half.
For me the first half of the film is really good. As the group wanders into the wilderness a great tension is built up.
The trouble is the film swerves into even stranger territory once the bodies start piling up (for no real reason except to get us toward the end) and the film deteriorates despite the fact that there are some truly amazing sequences. The film, like the films it echoes (Stalker, R-Point, The Bunker and a few others) simply gets to a point where the weirdness can't be sustained, partly because it looses internal logic and partly because it becomes clear it has no way to bring it all together in an ending that works. Worse the film splits the group up into parts and the further fractures of the plot line weaken things further. Yes, the film continues to amaze on an individual scene basis it unfortunately never hangs together with the final denouncement being less than it could have been (though it has a wicked final image). I love the parts- they just never put it together with the result it all falls down.
I need to say that the sound design of this film is one of the most amazing I've ever seen. Its a reason to see this in a good theater on a big screen simply because I have yet to see a home theater system that will ever match seeing this in a theater. Basically if you can't see this with a great sound system the film's audio track will have little effect on you and weaken an already tenuous second half.