The King Tide

Watched this immediately after the Redlettermedia video came out today. I really enjoyed this film and as the title says I didn't want to turn it off once it was on. It's very bare bones and just a lot of talking but that's what makes it great. They were able to get so much out of the limited material they had. The cinematography is beautiful with a wonderful filming location.

All the acting is at least hood overall with some actors better than others. Maybe for a couple of scenes I would've done another take.

As another review said, some clever people don't do the smartest things. However, this is few and far between throughout.

I would also say you can get a bit lost scene to scene. It's from one scene in a kitchen to the next in annother vaguely similar but different room, maybe in the same house maybe not. Characters just turn up and they all look the same. Given the budget I can't fault this though, they did the best they could.

I wont spoil anything (don't read this just in case) but I did feel some of the characters at the end were a bit lacklustre. They could've been filled out more and they were just plonked into the story to see what happens. It could've been a bit more clever but shot slightly differently with a change to the dialogue and it would've worked well.

One of Cinema's greatest virtues is working with themes that discuss morals, belief, power and human nature. This proposal is never easy to execute, nor to be fully understood in the final production result. What is seen on the screen can often result in controversy, subversion and controversies even if the narrative there brings a portrait close to our reality.

The Canadian film The King Tide (2023) by Christian Sparkes aims to work with these issues. Here, the director intends to explore the changes in a peaceful, isolated and idyllic fishing village that changes its behavior after the unexpected arrival of a girl with extraordinary powers.

Of course, Sparkes uses Fiction, as well as metaphors and symbolism, to dialogue with much of what we see in society. Once again, Cinema reflects on the impacts of a community that will now need to deal with the powers at its disposal. Far from being another typical superhero film, the gift of the girl Isla (Alix West Lefler) will serve as the trigger for a series of changes in the village.

Another important resource for creating a dark atmosphere in the film is the desolate situation of the village itself. Furthermore, residents are determined not to have contact with other places, and they don't even look for doctors and clinics outside the island. This adds a tone of conservatism that ends up weighing on the girl's situation of extreme idolatry, in addition to impacting the antagonism of ideas among some inhabitants.

The final half hour also guarantees extra tension, all leading up to an explosive ending that will leave the viewer with varied interpretations and some questions. If this is what Cinema must be like, Sparkes is on a good path.

The concept for this film is interesting, but it is slow. The story is good, as is the acting.

The cinematography is excellent, though because of the lowmomentum, I didn't feel any urgency or tension in the film, until the very end. That's where this film finally comes together. It is worth the wait.

Its not really a horror film or thriller, but more of a drama with fantasy elements. I chose to watch it over two nights, due to the pace.

I think this film would have been better at about 90 minutes. The dialogue, shots, and music are just too slow. Perhaps better editing would have been in order.

This was a really interesting premise and the setting was great and the director obviously has an affection for the area he shot it in.

The story set up was good and they started to look into interesting perspectives of how people would handle a 'miracle' performing child, but then mostly went off the rails to darkness and illogical evil.

The actors all did a great job with the characters they were given but this went from being a potentially insightful and deep film into a same old same old but well staged, shot and acted slight disappointment.

Great to see the 2 core actors from Rectify on screen again too.

1) First of all, lower your expectations, by no means it is a 10/10 nor a 9/10 movie. If someone watches this thinking that this is a masterpiece, they are gonna be disappointed.

2) This is a supernatural drama. There is a mystery element, there are also some dramatic moments and it gets intense during the last 15-20 minutes but it's mostly a slow, low-key drama. Biggest quality here is acting, every actor did a fine job. I can't say this is the most interesting movie i've watched but it was not boring either, i was curious to see where it goes and i enjoyed it. Nothing is being explained and for sure i wanted some answers but i didn't mind it much, i appreciated movie's enigmatic "nature".

3) Regarding of the ending, it was unexpected and that's a good thing. I mean, i am not even sure if i liked it or not but i liked the fact that i didn't see it coming.

Overall, this was good. I can't recommend it or not, there are better movies to watch but if you are a fan of this genre, you will probably like it. And i can tell for sure that there are far worse 2024 movies.