Disappearances

My wife and I watched a copy of "Disappearances" this evening. We both enjoyed it very much! We had both read the novel about a year ago and so were familiar with the Mosher story. This very expansive and in some ways too fanciful novel (the cloned abbot in the monastery comes to mind) was very enjoyable, but we think Craven did a fine job of translating it to the screen without having to include every aspect of the original text.

All performances were well done. Especially fine was the work of Gary Farmer (Henry) and Charlie McDermott (Wild Bill). Kris Kristofferson (Quebec Bill) was better in the latter part of the film, but (and perhaps this was intentional) was more caricaturish early on. He became more of a real character later as his situation became more serious. The smaller parts by William Sanderson and Bill Raymond were also enjoyable. The parts by Genevieve Bujold and Lothaire Bluteau were more problematic, both seeming lackluster in comparison to the others. The only real disappointment was Luis Guzman, whose part as Brother Hilliare was so reduced as to be inconsequential.

We feel an excellent job was done of handling what could have been expensive special effects by implying, without showing, such things as the train wreck. Too much emphasis is placed on graphic representation in today's films, when suggestion can be just as, or in some cases, more effective (as in special effects that don't work!).

If we have a serious objection to the film, it is the confusion that is generated in the earlier part caused by including many varied elements of the book without some sort of unifying dialog (perhaps a voice-over by an adult version of Wild Bill would help). This problem is relieved later in the film, but by that time a portion of the audience may be lost.

Our congratulations on a fine cinematic experience that deserves wide distribution.

We have also seen Craven's two previous Mosher adaptations, and consider this to be his best! One more thing – kudos to the cinematographer for the beauty of the production! Outside of our own Northwest, the Vermont Kingdom County is one of the most beautiful parts of our beautiful nation.

This well-meant film falls just a bit short, and unfortunately in too many areas.

The scenery is gorgeous, with vistas of north-central Vermont providing the setting for this mid-century tale. Quebec Bill endeavors to go back to his whiskey-running past in order to save his farm.

Going back and forth between scenes of magical realism and straight-forward action, this film rarely hits its stride.

Kris Kristofferson as Quebec Bill seems pretty stilted, or else it's his lines; or else his cross of Yankee and Quebecois accents. Anyway, he just comes off as a low-key blow-hard. His dialogs with Gary Farmer's Coville character do sparkle, though. William Sanderson's Rat Kinneson is solid. Charlie McDermott shows some real potential as young Wild Bill; but his part's not large enough to carry a scene and he never steals one. Luis Guzman shows up on Lake Memphramagog (with a fine stand-in performance by Lake Willoughby) as a monk with a boys'n'the hood accent: who knows? And then there's Bujold's Cordelia: an oracle like her namesake, she channels Yoda as she intones lines like "You will marry a Quebec woman!"?!? Just too weird and nowhere near enigmatic enough.

The end gets really choppy. Again a bad mix of magical realism and the concrete. And Yoda never provides an answer we can understand.

I'm amazed by the comments posted about this film. God forbid a director make a simple attempt to create an environment that is not 100% realism. God forbid a director enter the world of the super-natural and surreal. I found Dissapearances a wonderful film, perhaps Craven's best, if you actually do a little work yourself. My favorite question about this film is, "Well gosh. What the hell does it mean?" It means whatever the hell you want it to! What about the owl? What about Bujold showing up at random times? What about this. What about that? My God, have we gotten become so moronic by viewing the films of Michael Bay that we NEED to be told what to think and feel? The film is an adventure. Sit back and try to figure it out. Kristofferson gives a fantastic performance as does Gary Farmer, who is the dry comedic relief of the show. The photography is excellent, maybe the best Craven has had since "Rivers" and the editing is perfect. Give this film a chance and if you don't get it the first time you see it (which I did not)watch it again. You will be pleasantly surprised.

To be fair, I saw this movie on network TV, so it may have been edited, and I missed a few minutes in the middle of it. Having said that, this one's a turkey. The scenes are pretty, Kristofferson did well, and I guess the kid from The Middle was believable enough, but a movie's quality isn't necessarily inversely proportional to how believable or realistic it is. Likewise, a dull and confusing movie isn't necessarily a good one. I have the sneaking suspicion that the people raving about this movie either a) are the pretentious types who think movies that don't make sense are works of brilliance and whose pride won't let them admit they don't make sense or b) put up money to make the movie and don't want to feel they've been jobbed. On that note, at the end of the credits, it lists all the people who gave money to make the movie along with people who hosted fundraisers for it; if a movie is that hard to sell and has to rely on so many private sponsors, along with government money from the NEA, there's a good chance it's not any good. You know, now that I think about it, since some of my tax money went to fund this stinker, I fully endorse it myself. God bless America. If you're looking for a good indie-type movie, skip Disappearances and watch An Unfinished Life with Robert Redford and Jennifer Lopez.

What a delight! In a market where we excuse bad scripts and flat characters for a dozen more explosions, dazzling special effects, and everything else twenty million dollars can buy, I love Disappearances for its charm, its clever script handled by a well-appointed cast, and its beautiful photography.

The movie is thoroughly rural. Like the countryside where it was produced, it unfolds itself slowly but magnificently. Do not expect to find your heart in your throat for two hours, followed by a climactic and tidy resolution to the cosmos. Disappearances tells a story of father and son, and it is rightly more of a process than a particular event. In that regard, the plot development is stylistically more similar to eastern European cinema than it is to its American peers.

With only a couple hitches (some characters are more prop than talent), Disappearances' strong symbiosis of script and talent is the film's greatest offering. The superb synergy of Farmer and McDermott with the others, the perfect casting of Sanderson to character, and a good performance by Kristofferson, have me pinching myself at times to remember these people aren't actually family. Disappearances ventures further, or more believably, into the psychology of its main characters than many American films dare go.

That Jay Craven was ambitious with his budget shows at times during Disappearances, but it becomes more of a mark of honor than a detractor. This film is the antithesis to the contemporary action blockbuster. The film moves slowly at times, and the action is not always plausible, but the characters are for the most part enchanting. Besides, our suspension of disbelief in the cinema is an aesthetic choice above all, and I appreciate the way Disappearances, in its fusion of magic realism and frontier, challenges me to look at movies anew.