Kandisha

I saw this film at oxford film fest and was stunned. This flick is up to par with the best Asian horror pix. muted colors and low key characters used in a very effective way. The plot is not the best part about the film but it works. I found the courtrooms scenes daring and brilliantly shot. A lot of the movie reminded me of "The Others" by Alejandro Amenabar. The slow burn is efficient and the waiting game really keeps you on edge. I am impatient to see this director's next project. There were rumors at oxford fest about Cohen Oliver tackling on Hollywood. If this happens, I just hope he doesn't not lose his Spanish-Asian touch. That's what sold me.

I was with a friend from new Orleans when I watched the movie and when we got in the car, she sat down, paused for a long moment, then started crying. I turned to her and asked her what was wrong. She said it was the film . We looked at each for a while then tears jumped into my eyes as well and we both started crying. To this day, I find no other way to describe this movie... When Helen and I think about it today, we laugh and move on with our lives... Because after all, it's only a movie.. Or at least we make it seem like it, because once you've seen this film, you won't forget it. You may not like it but you won't forget. You won't forget the cabalist whose mysticism is so empowering that it leaves you breathless. You won't forger that little girl, Mika, and her lullaby in Moroccan dialect (I presume) that gave me goose bumps. you won't forget the American played by David Carradine in his surrealistic cell as eh describes Kandisha. You won't forget the rose petal as it lands on a portrait at then end and we realize.... Oops. I almost spoiled it. I got carried away and you know what, that's what the movies does. It carries you. It carries you places. carried in your own heart. It does hurt to discover those paces... But I think it's worth the trip. I enjoyed the movie. So did my friend. But I don't think I want to see it again. Not because it's not good enough. But simply because you' just don't fall in love twice with the same person.

Well, well. What do we have here? It is not like anything you've seen before. It is foreign territory yet there is something deliciously familiar with this movie. Being a film buff, I would imagine one could easily qualify it as a sixth sense meets the orphanage, but that wouldn't be fair to the director, as I firmly believe that it aims for much more than that. There are such powerful performances in this film (David Carradine's role as the American is one of his best) that the movie manages to slowly tightens its grip around your throat until you feel totally out of breath. Usually, supernatural thrillers are just what they are, thrillers. I don't think this one qualifies as such. It is more of a drama with supernatural overtones. It digs deeper than a conventional thrill flick and even though some jump scares are a bit predictable, the movie as a whole remains powerful. The score is remarkable and the cinematography reminded me of a Rembrandt painting. This is the first film I see by a Moroccan filmmaker and predictably, not my last.

Rarely does a film offer more that what truly defines it. Kandisha, in a way, does just that. The plot in itself is not what makes the film so unique, rather, it is the combination of drama, mystery and horror, that give the movie its edge. It is clear that Cohen Olivar draws his inspiration from Korean and Spanish cinema but he does in a way that's so different and new that it leaves you guessing. The guy toys with you. There is no doubt about it. He manages to takes so many exogenous elements, many styles and, let's stay it, so many cultures, and blends them almost seamlessly into one gripping, hour and 35 minutes of what I would like to call New Moroccan Cinema. I do believe something has been Invented here. Again , not in terms of plot, characterization, or even style, but simply in terms of "feel. " what you need to look for here is emotion. raw emotion. The kind of emotion you used to have as a child when mom yelled at you after you had spilled milk on the a couch, then felt guilty and hugged you right after. This is what you will feel lie after you've seen this movie. You'' feel yelled at, you'll fell hugged, and ultimately, you may even feel like you don't quite get it. But you'll be okay with that... Because it It's part of the ride. And as a character in the movie puts it as he points at the door of a psychiatrist institution. "This is the line between sanity rand reason. it is only an 5 centimeters thick" I've seen the movie and I walked across that line. I'm not sure I have returned just yet...

I've seen the film at the palm spring international film fest. first off, this is not a horror film. is this good or bad? i guess it depends which way you look at it. there is very little Graphic horror in the movie and this is not the reason i enjoyed the film anyway. what the film has going for itself is a kind of subdued emotional pinch that sips into you like morphine (or any of its medical derivatives). here, it is clear that the influences of Guillermo del Toro played a role in designing this unusual journey through fantasy. the film is low budget but looks expensive. A friend of mine who has been to Morocco has actually met one of the crew members of "Kandisha" and from what he recalls from his conversation is that , it seemed that the director knew what he was doing. and it shows. Every shot in this film is thought of carefully. every piece of dialog has one purpose only and it is to help the characters and the plot evolve. Kandisha is an example in academic film-making. Basic grammar brought to a level of sophistication that ultimately becomes so simple that it feels like 1+1=2. I have read in a review that the director's first feature "cool crime" was largely influenced by the work of David lynch. now I understand better why Kandisha works so well on an emotional standpoint. It is because everything about this gem of a movie has unconscious influences from masters. Again is that good or bad? The answer is simple. If you want to become someone to be reckoned with in Hollywood, you better have your sh.. (sorry) together. This guy, J. Cohen Oliver has it together, and I will bet you my last lunch at Wendy's that his next movie will be aimed at a much bigger audience... In the meantime, congratulations for coming out of the woods in such a simple, magical way...

Dee Rasmussen