VIFF 2009 -Reviews of The Eclipse and Pelleas and Melisande

Tonight I saw two films that I am championing as part of my volunteer efforts at VIFF this year.

I will review The Eclipse first even though I saw it second.

According to the description in the VIFF guide, The Eclipse is set in scenic Cobh, County Cork and director Conor McPherson's tantalizing amalgam of love story and supernatural thriller stars Aidan Quinn and Ciarán Hinds. Hinds is a widower who falls for visiting ghost-story writer Lena (High Fidelity's Iben Hjejle) while enduring some shocking apparitions.

I have to say that there were moments that when these apparitions appeared that I did jump out of my seat and did feel a chill course through my body but the weird thing was that every time people jumped in the audience it was followed by laughter. In fact there were several moments where the audience laughed and I am really not sure they should be.

For example, after Hinds' Michael Farr sees one these apparitions, he is comforted by his daughter but all of a sudden it is he who is comforting here even though she didn't see any ghosts yet the audience found this funny.

But what I found cloying was Fionnuala Ni Chiosain's score. You knew something scary was going to happen because of her creepy piano tinkling score that I was expecting to jump out of my seat at any moment.

I also didn't understand Conor McPherson's decision to shoot some of the movie in shadows. There was one particular scene were Michael and Lena were walking in a hospital corridor all in shadow and Michael leaves the scene and the camera lingers on Lena in complete darkness. It made no sense.

And Aidan Quinn was such a waste as a writer coming to town for an annual writer's festival that Michael works for in addition to be a woodshop teacher and a writer. Quinn was such a self-absorbed drunken blowhard that there was nothing likeable about him and he really served no purpose to the overall story.

On the ohter hand, Hjejle was winning as Lena and she displayed good chemistry with Hinds.

Hinds was good in is role as a still grieving widower.

There was something I wished the director and writer explained was why did Michael see the apparition that he did. I would like to know that answer or maybe I was just too tired to grasp it.

The Eclipse is playing two more times at VIFF09: Sun Oct 11, 9pm at the Ridge and Thu Oct 15, 4pm also at the Ridge.

http://www.viff.org/tixSYS/2009/xslguide/eventnote.php?notepg=1&EventNumber=3413

Speaking of being tired. Pelleas and Melisande: The Song of the Blind was the film that I saw before the Eclipse. It was a two-hour long documentary that follows the first Russian production of the notoriously demanding Claude Debussey's 1902 opera Pelleas and Melisande.

The documentary was in French and showcased the rehearsals of the production spliced in with interviews of the director, conductor and some of the perfomers.

I will admit it. I fell asleep during the film. It actually was boring. Sorry but there was no way to sugar coat that.

I found the story of the opera to be fascinating: Golaud discovers Mélisande by a stream in the woods. She has lost her crown in the water, but does not wish to retrieve it. They marry and she instantly wins the favor of Arkël, who is ill. She falls in love with Pelléas. They meet by the fountain, where Mélisande loses her wedding ring. Golaud grows suspicious of the lovers, has Yniold spy on them, and discovers them caressing, whereupon he kills Pelléas and wounds Mélisande. She later dies after giving birth to an abnormally small girl.

And at times I wished that the film was just the opera and not behind the scenes.

There were somethings that I wished were better explained. First off, the director of the opera kept on mentioning the name Maeterlinck and I had no idea who he is or was until I read on Wikipedia that he is the author of the play of which Debussey based his opera.

Also, he follwed one of the actors who plays Arkel but never once showed us his name (we had to find out in the end credits) and only followed ever briefly. The same goes for all the people they interviewed. Not a single credit given to anyone.

The film also followed one of the violin players in the orchestra and what I found strange was the woman was speaking (I never learned who she was or how long she's been playing in the orchesra) as a voice over but the camera was on her and she isn't speaking. I found that weird. As well, she brought out the point that Debussey has never been performed in Russia. Now is it just his opera that has never been performed or all his works. Either way, I wouldn't mind finding out why it hasn't been performed in Russia and why is it such a big deal. That is never explained.

It also wouldn't have been nice to get the audience reaction. We got one audience scene but it was in the middle of the film and it went back to rehearsal footage that I got really confused.

Anyways, Pelleas and Melisande has finished its run at VIFF09.