L'autre rive

John (Dermot Mulroney) is a single father living in backwoods Georgia with his two sons, teenaged Chris (Jamie Bell) and younger Tim (Devon Alan). Their quiet and routine lives are disrupted with the arrival of Deel (Josh Lucas), John's estranged brother. They decide to try to work things out and become a family, but competitiveness gets the best of the two men, secrets are revealed, and this quickly leads to horrific violence. The two kids escape the situation only to find themselves being hunted across the state.

The opening credits have a 70s Dukes of Hazzard feel (ostensibly the filmmaker's way of letting us know in which decade this story is set, as the isolated existence of the family gives no indication) that includes random freeze-frames. This is an early clue that this movie is going to be a unique experience. The freeze-frames become distracting (and seemingly arbitrary) when they return later interspersed throughout the film, but they help to loosen up the exciting (but excruciating!) introduction. The cinematography throughout this film is absolutely gorgeous and makes rural Georgia appear to be some sort of poverty-stricken fantasy land.

The performances are excellent. Mulroney and Lucas, two typical supporting Hollywood heartthrobs that some might say are miscast, actually play well off of each other and are very believable as brothers. The child actors are phenomenal, which is important as the story belongs to these two boys who are suddenly faced with violence that changes their lives. The plot borders on a twisted fairytale--it even involves gold coins! This seems silly at times, but considering this movie is told through the perspective of two young boys, it is somehow fitting.

The movie is at times quirky and filled with charming weirdness. Tim, in particular, is a fascinating character that has some sort of eating disorder where his body rejects food but craves things like paint, mud, and worms. The supporting characters the boys meet on their journey are equally bizarre. Some scenes come across as ridiculous or absurd, but Undertow is a film that is rich in both symbolism and metaphor and it is necessary to look for the deeper meaning of such scenes.

Alternately charming and disturbing, Undertow is a powerful film about the horrors of betrayal and family violence, and the beauty of forgiveness. Highly recommended, but be warned that the violence is graphic and very difficult to watch.

My Rating: 8/10

In the country of Drees County, the widow hard worker John Munn (Dermot Mulroney) lives in a simple rural isolated property with his rebel and troubled son Chris (Jamie Bell) and his sick son Tin (Devon Alan) and no friends. When his brother Deel Munn (Josh Lucas) unexpectedly arrives in his house on probation, John welcomes him. However, the real intentions of Deel lead the family to a tragedy, forcing the boys to leave home.

"Undertow" is a low paced movie, with a short story, great development of characters and excellent performances. There are no big surprises along the story and in spite of the introduction of the film inducing that it is based on a true event, I have not found any reference in Internet about this murder. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Contra Corrente" ("Undertow")

I watched Undertow at the Stockholm International Film Festival in November 2004. I had previously heard nothing about the film and it was more or less a coincidence that made med watch it. It was a pleasant experience though.

Undertow is about two brothers living with their father in rural America. They live inside the woods since their father wants to keep away from other people. The oldest son, Chris, is a troubled kid almost always in trouble with the law. The youngest son has health problems. One day the fathers brother comes to visit, recently out of prison. He stays for a while before starting a new job. Soon though, there is trouble. Things happen and before long the two brothers are running from their uncle.

The story here is perhaps nothing you haven't seen before at one time or another. But it's well executed and the strange, almost surreal, mood of the film is well maintained throughout. What stands out though in my opinion is the acting. All the main characters are acted very well. Especially Jamie Bell is excellent as the oldest brother. Also Josh Lucas does a terrific job playing the boys' unpleasant uncle.

I wouldn't call this a masterpiece but it's well worth the watch. If for nothing else, then at least for the acting. It was one of the better films i saw at this years film festival, and i feel it's worth recommending. I rate it 6/10.

Taking a pop-culture icon and flipping it on its head is a favorite pastime of young film directors. In 1986 David Lynch took his boy-scout memories and essentially, in his own words, sent "The Hardy Boys" to hell with "Blue Velvet." Likewise, with a bit of Terrance Malick inspired poeticism, director David Gordon Green sends the good old Duke Boys to hell with "Undertow." Josh Lucas is effectively menacing in a "Night of the Hunter" kind of way as the recently released from prison brother of the stoic Dermot Mulroney, who has secluded himself and his two sons from the rest of the world on a hog farm following the death of his wife (whom was previously involved with Lucas' character). Some family folklore involving a hidden stash of gold coins sends Lucas' ex-con on a rampage that ends with the tracking of the young brothers on the run through rural American Gothic hell on earth. There's a lot to fault in a film like this, but also a lot to treasure if you give it the time. Jamie Bell and Devon Alan as the two brothers are very convincing and easy to route for, and some directorial flourishes from Green and nice character acting from Lucas keep the film fresh and original even as it channels past classics from Malick ("Badlands"), Lynch ("Blue Velvet"), and the "Night of the Hunter." There's also a score from my favorite minimalist composer Philip Glass. All in all, not a bad way for a film buff to spend their evening.

Talented filmmaking from director of Pianapple Express, with a disturbing underlying nerve right from the start. The story evolves around two brothers growing up in a poor, rural farming environment in the southern part of Georgia. Troubles comes when the convicted brother of the father of the boys turned up unexpectedly, looking for some hidden gold coins.

It's a well told story, a southern tragedy, with great acting from the entire cast. The underlying terror of the past is haunting in this piece of good film making. The story is perfectly told, but if something's lacking here, it's the final pull of interest. But it's beautiful, sad and heart wrenching from a lesser fortunate part of USA.

Well worth a watch, if you don't expect a masterpiece, but a good film.