Earwig

You gotta be in the mood to watch a movie like this, because it freaked me out because of it's realy weird and disturbing story. Therefore only recommended for the diehard arthouse movie fans, who can stumach a bleak and depressing story.

The good: beautifully photographed, with some scenes resembing a still picture or a painting. It really looks gorgeous and I really love that. The many unknown actors are acting really well, although there is definitely a lack of chemistry BETWEEN the actors and that brings me to the criticism...

The bad: this movie is definitely lacking spark and punch caused by a real lack of interaction between the actors, which wasnt bothering me at the start, but halfway through I began to get somewhat bored by this absence of actors actually speaking to each other. But this is only a minor criticism, many other folks might not mind about this at all.

A beautifully looking moody picture, with it's only downfall being a lack of actor's chemistry.

"You have a week to prepare her to be on the outside." The chilling, emotionless instructions come over the phone to a creepy, unfeeling, shell of a man. This man, Albert, treats a ten-year-old girl in his charge like she is a machine or an experiment, not like the child that she is. Albert does not let her out of the house. He changes her braces of metal and ice, feeds her, and little else. The little girl dutifully follows his instructions and submits to the darkness and control. The meaning of it all is unclear.

Earwig is a perplexing, eerie, bizarre, shocking, and fascinating puzzle to unravel. It is full of colorful sequences of light that reflect the emotional states of characters. It is unsettling, strange, and disturbing, yet entrancing and radiant. By bending reality, immersing you in low light and moody music, and with flashbacks, the film brings you into a Kafka-like story. There are so many questions left unanswered; a girl diving into water, a woman watching, stabbings, surprising emotional shifts, a girl singing that triggers deep emotions, and so much more.

In an introduction to the film the director encourages the audience to keep an open mind. Try to keep your head from exploding is better advice.

World premiere seen at the Toronto international film festival. English is the spoken language of this film based on a novel by Brian Catling. Not streaming anywhere yet.

This movie is very clearly open to many different interpretations, mine is mostly based on my emotional response. I think in a way this work kinda dives into the hidden fear and repulsion many people have towards the female body: menstruations, fertility, pregnancy, etc.

Albert is scared by Mia's first symbolic period, has unnerving memories of his wife's pregnancy and Celeste's character speaks for itself. The war barely ended so we also have another layer of violence to add to the complex situation.

It's a very very interesting movie but the pacing is glacial so I can't give it more than 5.

It's a visually attractive movie that makes you think that there is some goal or explanation, yet this never arrives. The environment is dark, dim, damp, old, ghostly. The characters behave in ways that only a writer can force upon, as their behaviors don't match with real people. You could bet that there is some bigger secret or explanation for such artificiality, yet nope. Again, there isn't.

The ending is a whimsical and random and slightly disgusting as the whole movie and you could play games about the explanation. But this is faux depth. Is trying to make the viewer or reader the creator, and that's a horrible technique.

Earwig is so dark and twisted that you will either love it or hate it.

It reminds me of a 1989 movie I saw with a friend that was so bizarre and dark, that i never forgot it, never want to see it again, but in an odd way love it. That was, The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Love.

Though Earwig's story is nothing like it, it has that same kind of darkness running throughout.

It pulls off so many technical concepts they teach in film school excellently, to the point I gave it at least a star or two higher than maybe i would if I hadn't gone to film school.

I don't think there is a good way to describe this movies story.

It is very much an artistic movie from a story perspective, with minimal dialogue and there are elements of it that remind of Tim Burton's darker movies.

100% recommended for anyone in film school or interested in filmmaking or cinematography.

Otherwise, it's dark, weird, and strange enough I'd say don't watch it unless your in a good mood and mentally healthy.

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