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ya W aos beicr-lae lee film, ‘Violent; plays as aa i ereeee Top 10 ulbeemaorsie heel

h

Josh Cabrita
The Peak (NUW)

t feels like happiness. It

feels like remembering
faces and words. It feels like
water. It feels like electricity. It
sounds like a humming fridge.”
What is the girl who utters
these words after every chapter

of Violent describing?

In the film’s twist ending,
we finally discover what is
lying beneath the surface
of this emotive film’s plot.
However, Violent is aiming for
an effect that is more visceral
than intellectual; it’s how the
film goes about achieving
this feeling that makes it so

fascinating.
Violent, recently featured

at the Pacific Cinematheque,

fl

ee,

: is structured like a musical

: composition. This makes sense
: given that Vancouver band

: We Are the City is behind it.

: Drummer Andrew Huculiak

: is credited as director, but

he insists that this was a

collaborative work with other

: members of the production
? company Amazing Factory. The !
band went to Norway to make
: analbum and an accompanying : pivotal events that cause her
: short film. They came back with :
: their 2013 album, also titled

: Violent, and this feature film,
: which is spoken entirely in
Norwegian—a language none of a feeling, and often focusses on
: the band members understand. : mood rather than plot. Through :
: through the discontinuous

: editing and abstract choruses
: of the visuals—this includes

: surreal floating objects,

: and what appears to bea

: combination of light and

The film has verses linked

: together by a chorus, and a

: melody that ends the film

: where it began. It opens with
: an image of a car driving over
: a bridge with a power plant

in Canada’s T Film Festival :
ees : inthe background—a visual

i

: motif that appears in every :
: movement of the film, linking it :

all together. of filmmaking makes this a

The film’s five verses

: focus on five different people
: remembered and loved by a

: young woman named Dagny,
: who is stranded in a small

: town. The chorus is the

: visual depiction of the girl’s

: subjective experience during

to remember the narrative

portions of the film.

The movie is less interested

: in telling a story than evoking

: this mood, we learn about the

: experience of the protagonist.

: The film’s choruses resemble

: the experimental works of

: filmmaker Stan Brakhage, while
: the verses appear to be inspired
: by the narrative realism of films

 

: such as Oslo, August 31st. The

melding of these two styles

: staggering directorial debut.

The visual style of Violent

: shifts from the typical wide

: compositions and lengthy

: takes associated with narrative
: realism to the enigmatic

: imagery typical of experimental :
: works. The film is told through
: Dagny’s point of view, and what :
: she chooses for us to see tells

: us about her inner thoughts.

: The film’s naturalistic tone

: and unobtrusive direction

: shows us her behaviour before
: we experience her perception

: scratch marks on film.

Instead of being purely

: reflexive like most experimental
: works, Violent uses its abstract
imagery (with some staggering
: visual effects and an ominous

: musical score) to explore a

: subjective feeling. Admittedly,

: this has been done before, such
: as in the hyperdrive sequence

: of 2001: A Space Odyssey;

: however, it has never been such
: an integral part of any film’s

: storytelling that I’ve seen.

Violent effectively captures

: acertain feeling by using

: experimental techniques

: without sacrificing its

: conventional narrative style.

: Through sights and sounds,

: Violent does what few films

: could hope to achieve: it

: gives us a gateway into an

: experience we could have never
: felt without a white screen, a

: projector, and surround sound.

 

Third time’s the charm

» ‘Taken 3’ movie review

Megan West
Columnist

OOOO

he third instalment of the

Taken franchise is precisely
what you might expect: Liam
Neeson as Bryan Mills saving
his family from Russian hit
men one insane stunt at a time.
It’s been done twice before
and the third time you could

almost bet money on Mills’ next :
: film based on its underlying

move. However, it is still wildly

: entertaining.

Living up to its reputation,

: the movie is action-packed,

: full of flying bullets and a
: wonderful representation
of Neeson’s on-point ability

: to make you feel as if you’re

: watching the most dangerous

? man in the world save the

: day. The storyline isn’t overly

: complex, although there were

: a few minor twists that left me

: with that faint sense of mystery

: throughout the movie.

If I were critiquing the

: messages of hope or

: inspirational performances, it

: wasn't the greatest. On the flip
: side though, if you are purely

: looking for an adrenaline-

: pumping cinematic experience, :
: I wouldn't miss this one. It is
: predictable, but as the saying

: goes—‘If it ain’t broke, don’t
fix it.”
: I happen to bea huge fan

: of the franchise and there is

: no way that anyone who liked
: the first two movies won't like
: this one. Asan added bonus,
the ending is set up perfectly

: to allow for a fourth instalment
: and will likely be in the works

: soon.

Overall, I would

: recommend this film to anyone
: looking for a fun night at the

: movies. Neeson’s “special set

: of skills” are still very much

: alive and will leave you feeling
: satisfied having spent the

: money to see Taken 3. Not

: quite as good as the original

: but better than the sequel, this
: movie gets a gold star in terms
: of action and adventure—
precisely what it aims to do.