Empty Spaces

The main thing that prevents the viewer from getting into this, or at least for me, was the completely pointless chopped up editing and the camera going into weird angles. All it does is disrupt the continuity, although what masquerades as a plot here really meanders to nowhere. The music is annoying and in no way matches up with the onscreen action, for lack of a better word. The few positives here don't counteract all the other amateur ploys they use to try and draw the viewer in. I don't appreciate when they waste ten minutes to hammer a point home that could have been made in one minute. No, nothing works here. More art house crap.

My girlfriend watched this movie when she went to visit her sister and she was confused by it. She couldn't figure out for the love of her life why the man took so much money out of his ATM account and then went and buried it and neither could her sister. They were baffled by it, but when she explained the movie to me I knew right away why he had done it without even having to see it. I told her my theory and she didn't believe me but then I watched the movie for myself and my suspicions were confirmed. He did it because he didn't want his wife to get the money! It is so obvious! My girlfriend said that it doesn't explain it in the movie but it really does! He goes and buries the money and then afterwards he tells his friend that he has split up with his wife and she spends all his money on stupid things and he is going around trying to get his life in order. He doesn't come right out and say that he went and buried the money because of that but I know that is the reason why he did it. Maybe it's just something that women can't understand because my girlfriend couldn't figure it out and neither could her sister but I did.

OK, so I will get this out of way and say that yes, this film does have some audio issues, but they are small and forgivable, and so did "Come and See," which is nonetheless considered a masterpiece. So we can move past that. Now, very often I overhear people talking about a film with a heart, which is to say that it moved them in some way. Well "Empty Spaces" is a film with a brain like no other that I've seen in a long time. It does not dumb anything down for the audience, but at the same time it tells a simple story. The brothers don't call each other "brother," and if we don't figure it out on our own then we simply don't figure it out. Nothing gained, nothing lost, just as it should be. And yet the plot is so simple, in fact, that it turns out to be exceedingly clever in its simplicity. It pulls no punches, as the saying goes. Unfortunately, I do not believe that many other viewers, not ever those who enjoyed this film, understood its entire meaning. It is such a unique viewing experience that most were undoubtedly caught up in the novelty of the thing. Truly, the director never cuts away from the action (or inaction) of the main character, when literally any other director would. It may come across as slow or boring to some, but it is in fact hypnotic. There is so much subtext in what is left unsaid. I have seen this film three times, and each time it is a different film, because each time I pick up on something new. It is truly fascinating.

Empty Spaces is not a "family" film in the way that Bambi or Lassie are family films. Rather, it is a film about a family, starring a real-life family, and, from what I can tell, produced by a family. There are no big special effects, but rather an honest and up-close look at some dysfunctional lives. Don't watch this one with the kids (there's cursing and innuendo) unless of course you want them to get a look at some real life situations. Maybe it would do them some good. Apart from that, the film is very well-made from a technical standpoint, despite the obviously modest budget. It is not a documentary or a home movie, but it does incorporate what appears to be real home movies of the main actors as children, which is an added bonus. The real treat here is the special dynamic shared by the real-life brothers, which really gives their characters added layers of depth and believability, and which certainly makes them far more interesting to watch. In my eyes, they do it better than Luke and Owen Wilson ever could.

This "movie" is very beautiful from a purely visual standpoint and interesting for that reason alone. It may be worthwhile to watch it with the sound off just to enjoy the stunning cinematography. There are some truly fascinating shots. However, that is the only thing I enjoyed about this film. The story was confusing and went nowhere. Who are these people? Are they brothers? Why was one of them burying money in the wilderness? I have so many questions and none of them were answered. I like for a movie to wrap up all the loose end in the final act and answer all of the viewer's questions. This one did not. Instead it only raised more questions, and I found it frustrating for that reason. It reminded me of a weird European art film or a David Lynch movie, so if you're into that sort of thing you may enjoy this, but it was not for me. I give it 2 stars out of 10 for the story only because there were one or two funny parts, and I give it 10 stars out of 10 for the wonderful cinematography. That averages out to 6 stars out of 10. Thank you and goodnight.