The Northern Land (João Botelho, Portugal): 12

Make no mistake: This film is deadly -- a stilted, stultifying pomo costume drama that makes Oliveira look like Aronofsky. There is no conceivable projection scenario that would not make me wish myself elsewhere. But it's possible that I might have found it somewhat less odious had the Festival not shown it to the press on (reportedly) plain old DVD, thereby rendering it ass-ugly as well as arm-gnawingly dull. Projected video has made such impressive leaps and bounds over the past few years that I'd forgotten how fervently I despise the way that the consumer-grade version, when blown up in a theatrical setting, flattens everything into a two-dimensional version of bad 3-D, with actors who (or rather "that") appear to have been digitally pasted onto unrelated backdrops. The Northern Land's declamatory theatrics would be grating enough in a context of visual splendor; presenting it in lo-def made me feel as if I were being subjected to a two-hour joint presentation by some high school's A/V Club and Drama Society. It doesn't help that all of the key female roles are played by Ana Moreira, whose sole register (see also Transe) is a sort of imperious terror. When one of her characters approaches a cliff's edge and looks longingly downward at the waves crashing on the rocks, I could only think "Oh please."

Posted on 10/07/08 by: dangelo 01:30 PM