Gutland

As someone who lives in Luxembourg for several years I went to see this movie this evening. Just came back. Be warned this is not the mainstream kind of movie with car chases and pouring with gun shots (although there are some in it ;) ). But if you like beautiful scenery, great cinematography, flawless acting (and some sexual scenes) and a great story - this is it! It is in the style of The Wicker Man or Bergman movies. The story is catching from the very beginning. While it develops slowly, step by step, it is almost like a teasing - I never felt bored. The end is with a twist and the story is actually a metaphore trying to capture the soul of this country. It lives you with an emotional aftertaste which only great movies can deliver. I look forward to buy it on DVD to watch it again later.

A bit weird, actually. It kind of works and then develops in a surreal direction. There are narrative promises and possibilities set up, but never paid off. All in all, a bit frustrating to watch, especially as some really important bits are never explained.

A German drifter arrives in a village in Luxembourg looking for work on a farm. He finds work. He works hard. He meets a girl. They have sex. Several times. He meets a dog too. Thankfully, he doesn't have sex with the dog. For half of the run time of this movie - that's the story. That's it. For a movie that bills itself as a "thriller" - there are no thrills in that first half of the movie. Literally none. I'll concede that there's some mystery. Who is this drifter? Why is he there? Really? There's more to this than him looking for work. That mystery gets cleared up at about the halfway point when we learn who Jens is and why he's in the village. And the village itself it a strange one with strange people who apparently shoot amateur porn on the side when they're not harvesting corn.

At that halfway point the movie does begin to take a bit of a darker turn, and as it progresses you begin to wonder what the mix is between fantasy and reality - and I confess I was left wondering whether the whole thing was a fantasy played out in Jens' head. The last scenes of the movie seemed ambiguous; confusing. I was left with a sense that there was no real closure involved with this and questioning what was "real."

It's rated highly. I have to give it that. Sometimes, though, I really do believe that people have a tendency to rate foreign language films highly because they're foreign language films - almost as if it's a sign of being cultured. And, of course, you start to see reviewers talking about the "great cinematography" - because what else are you going to talk about to justify rating it so highly? And there was some great cinematography here - some beautiful shots of rural Luxembourg. But it really didn't make up for a confusing and rather bland story. (2/10)

Other reviewers have already done a good job explaining what this movie is about. However, anyone who gives a movie a perfect score loses some credibility. It was good, but has it's flaws like any movie.

Who should watch this movie?

If you like a slow burn that's full of atmosphere, beauty, and steeping with anxiety throughout, you probably will not be disappointed. Think Hereditary meets Badlands (the Martin Sheen Badlands) and Of Mice and Men (If that's even possible to imagine.)

I was a bit irritated by the inaccurate subtitles because I hate with translators take their own liberties with their source material. But I'm not going to fault the film for that and it didn't detract from the story at all.

Who shouldn't watch this movie?

If you don't sprechen Deutsch or hate reading subtitles you should probably move on.

If you don't enjoy a slow expositive narrative expounded through long static camera shots, pantomime expression, and an overall feeling of apathy until the whole story is wrapped up and you can appreciate the forest for the trees, shrubs, brush, and snag.

Then you'll probably be bored out of your gourd.

I'll be looking forward to the next Govinda Van Maele flick!