Guernsey

This is one of the movies that seem promising at the start, stay so until the end but don't go anywhere. The plot is poor, with no clear storyline, apart from a girl who doesn't talk much, finds a dead body in her bathroom and starts getting paranoid with her husband. "Guernsey" is characterized by many (too) long, silent shots, which do give a pretty good atmosphere, but clearly lack some action. Everything Anna (the main character) does, has unclear reasons, and she therefore soon becomes a bit annoying ("Talk, girl, talk!"). All the intrigues and relationships between the main characters remain superficial, where some surprising turn in the plot could (and should) have mattered a lot. In summary, the movie is worth watching when you like a grisly ambiance created by silent scenes, but you'll need a real lot of patience if you're waiting for some action, or any at all.

Anna lives with her family in a new housing estate just outside the city. She has been with her husband Sebastiaan for years and they don't talk so much anymore. While on a working visit abroad, a female colleague commits suicide. Anna is deeply impressed by her death, even though she hardly knew her. Nobody seems to know why she took her own life. For the first time Anna realizes that one can be an unknown among your most dearest. Anna doesn't mention the incident back home and starts observing her husband and child. Guernsey is the story of a woman who suddenly starts looking at her own life. And she wonders how she got so drifted apart from the people closest to her.

(This is my translation of the DVD cover text synopsis. I hope you find it useful, as this movie doesn't have an IMDb Plot Summary yet at this date.)

This movie was long and boring. Surprising that it was selected for Cannes, although they tend to like pretentiousness. Point is that contrary to other Dutch stars of the arty genre like Kerkhof and Kruishoop, Guernsey feels utterly empty. Even more so it has no cinematic quality whatsoever. A long opening shot doesn't mean cinematic depth, it's just a long boring shot. The story wasn't interesting and the characters had problems I couldn't identify with at all. The actors didn't shine under her direction and seemed lost at times. Leopold tried, but she is not the talent I hoped she would be. Where are Kerkhof and Kruishoop? They really made some waves in Dutch cinema. Leopold just made another attempt.

For me every piece of art is to be judged by these criteria: Form, Function and Meaning. Guernsey seems to be dedicated to forms: nice shots and sometimes interesting acting. The long close ups suggest a function that the viewer may fill in by himself. Because of lacking texts the story becomes a quiz. An introvert person suggests to have depth, but sometimes it turns out he has nothing to say. This film acts like an introvert person. If you have not read the synopsis you cannot see that it was the suicide (and the unanswered question Why?) that changes Anna's view on life and makes her suspicious. 'Why don't you speak to me?' asks Sebastiaan. Anna doesn't answer, she only starts looking a long time at him without saying a word. What is the function of that shot? What does it mean? My question is like Sebastiaans: What has this film to say? What is meant by this movie? The answer for me: It shows us a handful of persons with the passion of a glass of water. The story of their lives is simple and boring. Motives behind their actions are not shown. The rest is: skins, residences, landscapes. Nice and artistic done, but meaningless without having disposal of 'instructions for use'. In my opinion this film is made for fellow artists, not for the common viewer.

Very stylish and mood full film, reminding me of great masters as Antonioni. Especially thinking of films as L'Avventura and La Notte. Through her slow and quiet way of setting atmosphere. It gets you really drawn into the story. Asking yourself questions and getting your mind at work. Don't worry it's not that it's unwatchable. It's just a film that needs some time to sink. The way the director leaves out music and often dialog set's the tone makes you notice different things than your used to in the average movie. She tells her story with great accuracy and very nice photography. I think a must see for someone who says he loves the art of cinema.