User Reviews

There are no crucial plot elements in this film, as it's not the kind of film that relies plot, therefore no danger of spoilers. Rather it is a film about one day in the life of a troubled and restless teenager (David), which is spent on his uncle's farm. This for the most part is a day of immense boredom, which he begins by being ordered by his uncle into doing various tedious chores around the farm (e.g.collecting wood and hay etc).These he does only with great reluctance. After the morning's work he is invited to a drinking session on the farm with his uncle and his friends, but although he joins in and becomes very drunk (and throws up) he just becomes even more bored and restless. Bored of the company of these older men, he begins to wander around the farm. Although there's not much of a plot there is a climactic ending however, which is propelled along by tragic event near the end of the film (which I won't go into).

The day is shown through a strange blend of realism, symbolism and dream. In the very beginning of the film the emphasis is on realism. One of the earliest scenes shows graphically his uncle cutting the throat of a sheep or lamb (have to admit that i turned away at this point because i knew it was coming). I think the idea of showing this scene was to dispel right away any idea of this countryside farm as being some sort of idyllic setting. For teenagers who have grown up in small towns, farms or villages, eager for excitement and brought up on mass mediated pop culture, TV and entertainment, the countryside is a place of inescapable and intolerable boredom,(I grew up in one so i should know). David's own attitude to animals and nature seems ambivalent or continually changing throughout the film. In one Scene David finds a dead rabbit and spends some time digging a grave for it, gently caressing and kissing it as he puts it in. But in another scene we see him repeatedly kicking a cockerel out of his way, and in another throwing stones at a donkey. Another reviewer described the David character as a 'tedious arrogant sociopath'. True, but isn't that a n accurate description of most teenagers. As teenagers go i found him quite likable. Frequently throughout the film we see what seem to be very short dream sequences, although these could also be merely describing Davids state of mind. Either way, no direct or obvious explanation is given to what these strange images might mean. They reminded me a bit of Lynch's 'Eraserhead', particularly the bit with glittering dust floating through the air like stars.

The entire film is beautifully shot in sharply contrasting black & white. The use of sound is also very striking and effective. Occasionally the sound of an airplane can be heard roaring past, (although we never actually see it), and sometimes with the sound trailing off into the next scene. In one part the sound dies off altogether in what would normally be the loudest scene of all - during a thunderstorm, and this creates a strange psychological effect. This along with some of the other poetically symbolic scenes reminded me of Tarkovsky's films. I really can't understand people who claim this film is boring and pretentious- i found it to be neither. As for the charge of 'boring', well it's a film partly about boredom- the boredom of youth, so it would have been totally inappropriate for it to concentrate on any plot, particularly a complex one. But that's not to say the film itself is boring. Far from it, it's a film full of interesting characters and beauty. And as for the 'pretentious'charge, pretentious seems to be a word used by people who are unable to appreciate artistic beauty, or who are unwilling or unable to engage with a film done in any other way than the typical Hollywood way, which is itself a form of snobbery. The word 'pretentious' means to make undeserved claims of distinction or importance. The director has not done that with this work, he has simply made a beautiful little film.

Definitely worth watching.