Fantastic Fest
AUSTIN -- Borrowing heavily from the rural terrors of "Deliverance" and "Straw Dogs", "The Backwoods", the feature debut from Spanish director Koldo Serra, appropriates the vibe of the decade in which it's set, the '70s. Its preference for simmering unease over frequent jolts limits possibilities at the multiplex, but an appealing cast and convincing mood might attract respectable numbers of older viewers to a limited theatrical run.
Revolving around two English-speaking couples who trek to Northern Spain for a weekend in the country house that one of them is restoring, the pic really belongs solely to the husbands: Paul Gary Oldman) had a grandmother who lived in the region and thus carries himself with assurance among standoffish locals, while Norman (Paddy Considine) is a more timid sort who can hardly deal with the missus, much less nature's mysterious challenges.
After a familiar-feeling encounter in a local bar, where Paul surprises the regulars by understanding their derogatory Spanish chatter, the four settle in for couples bonding and manly hunting. The latter leads to trouble when the men discover a feral-looking girl (with deformed hands buttressing our assumption she's the product of backwoods inbreeding) chained up in an abandoned barn.
Paul and Norman decide to get the girl to whatever passes for local authorities in these parts, but must camouflage their efforts from a band of men (led by Lluis Homar's intriguingly hard-to-read Paco) who claim to be a rescue party but clearly want to find the girl only to keep her under wraps.
The protagonists split up, leaving the increasingly neutered Norman struggling to find a backbone (a chance to defend his wife, a sex object played by Virginie Ledoyen, only complicates matters) while Paul tries to finesse Paco's crew. Oldman is a standout here, as restrained as he's ever been, bringing gravity to what could have been a one-dimensional portrait of hubris. Trekking through the trees with Paco, drenched by a pounding rain, Oldman helps kick-start the third act action that carries through to the picture's end.
That action might come too late for viewers uninterested in the interplay of personalities -- not very original but well sold by the cast -- that sets it up. But the photography and sound (including repeated appearances of vintage Leonard Cohen on the soundtrack) draws viewers in without overselling the vague menace.
THE BACKWOODS
Lionsgate
Divine Prods./Filmax/Holy Cow Films/Montfort Producciones/Videntia Frames
Credits:
Director: Koldo Serra
Screenwriters: Jon Sagala, Koldo Serra
Producers: Guillaume Benski, Julio Fernandez, Aitor Lizarralde, Pablo Mehler, Iker Monfort, Jolyon Symonds
Director of photography: Unax Mendia
Production designers: Juanjo Gracia, Mario Suances
Music: Fernando Velazquez
Costume designer: Josune Lasa
Editor: Javier Ruiz
Cast:
Paul: Gary Oldman
Norman: Paddy Considine
Isabel: Aitana Sanchez-Gijon
Lucy: Virginie Ledoyen
Paco: Lluis Homar
Nerea: Yaiza Esteve
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
AUSTIN -- Borrowing heavily from the rural terrors of "Deliverance" and "Straw Dogs", "The Backwoods", the feature debut from Spanish director Koldo Serra, appropriates the vibe of the decade in which it's set, the '70s. Its preference for simmering unease over frequent jolts limits possibilities at the multiplex, but an appealing cast and convincing mood might attract respectable numbers of older viewers to a limited theatrical run.
Revolving around two English-speaking couples who trek to Northern Spain for a weekend in the country house that one of them is restoring, the pic really belongs solely to the husbands: Paul Gary Oldman) had a grandmother who lived in the region and thus carries himself with assurance among standoffish locals, while Norman (Paddy Considine) is a more timid sort who can hardly deal with the missus, much less nature's mysterious challenges.
After a familiar-feeling encounter in a local bar, where Paul surprises the regulars by understanding their derogatory Spanish chatter, the four settle in for couples bonding and manly hunting. The latter leads to trouble when the men discover a feral-looking girl (with deformed hands buttressing our assumption she's the product of backwoods inbreeding) chained up in an abandoned barn.
Paul and Norman decide to get the girl to whatever passes for local authorities in these parts, but must camouflage their efforts from a band of men (led by Lluis Homar's intriguingly hard-to-read Paco) who claim to be a rescue party but clearly want to find the girl only to keep her under wraps.
The protagonists split up, leaving the increasingly neutered Norman struggling to find a backbone (a chance to defend his wife, a sex object played by Virginie Ledoyen, only complicates matters) while Paul tries to finesse Paco's crew. Oldman is a standout here, as restrained as he's ever been, bringing gravity to what could have been a one-dimensional portrait of hubris. Trekking through the trees with Paco, drenched by a pounding rain, Oldman helps kick-start the third act action that carries through to the picture's end.
That action might come too late for viewers uninterested in the interplay of personalities -- not very original but well sold by the cast -- that sets it up. But the photography and sound (including repeated appearances of vintage Leonard Cohen on the soundtrack) draws viewers in without overselling the vague menace.
THE BACKWOODS
Lionsgate
Divine Prods./Filmax/Holy Cow Films/Montfort Producciones/Videntia Frames
Credits:
Director: Koldo Serra
Screenwriters: Jon Sagala, Koldo Serra
Producers: Guillaume Benski, Julio Fernandez, Aitor Lizarralde, Pablo Mehler, Iker Monfort, Jolyon Symonds
Director of photography: Unax Mendia
Production designers: Juanjo Gracia, Mario Suances
Music: Fernando Velazquez
Costume designer: Josune Lasa
Editor: Javier Ruiz
Cast:
Paul: Gary Oldman
Norman: Paddy Considine
Isabel: Aitana Sanchez-Gijon
Lucy: Virginie Ledoyen
Paco: Lluis Homar
Nerea: Yaiza Esteve
Running time -- 98 minutes
MPAA rating: R...
- 10/2/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY, Utah -- Desert gurus, seminar spiritualists and every other form of New Age varmint that Los Angeles has tossed toward Santa Fe is the focus of this understated cerebral comedy about the flaky state of that current "in" spot.
Playing as a dramatic competition entrant here at the Sundance Film Festival, "Santa Fe" is a droll tale that should fork some decent returns on select-site roads. In particular, fans of novelist John Nichols, who has written extensively about the area in his New Mexico trilogy, will appreciate its satirical sense of the Southwest.
In this dry and dusty sendup, Gary Cole stars as Paul, a brainy lawman who was nearly killed in the line of duty and whose status as one of Santa Fe's finest was jeopardized by his being in a cult. A serious and scholarly sort, Paul's hostility to the pseudo-spiritualist gibberish of the area is topped off when he finds that his wife (Sheila Kelley) has taken up with a New Age acupuncturist. Further riling his sensibilities, Paul's daughter has become enamored with a self-help guru (Lolita Davidovich). Paul's predilection to quote Jean-Paul Sartre and remonstrate to them does not further endear him to his family, including his sister, a feisty councilwoman who has decided to run against the current mayor, an L.A. refugee.
In all, the film is a percolating mix of personal problems and philosophical conundrums and, best of all, writers Mark Medoff and Andrew Shea have rattled it up with all the spicy trappings of life in the area. Overall, "Santa Fe" is a portrait of a mind-set, filtered through the contradictions of that city. If "Santa Fe" has a problem, it is that it does not know its own boundaries -- the writers have woven too much tapestry into this format.
Shea's sly sensibility serves the film well, especially in his keen lensing of production designer Rosario Provenza's sunny-funny mix of things. Visually, "Santa Fe" is scrappy and succinct, owing to cinematographer Paul Elliott's smart sense of framings.
The cast is solid, especially Cole and Davidovich.
SANTA FE
Nu Image
A Doradel Pictures production
A film by Andrew Shea
Producers Larry Estes, Andrew Shea
Director Andrew Shea
Screenwriters Mark Medoff, Andrew Shea
Executive producers Sharon Bialy,
Boaz Davidson
Director of photography Paul Elliott
Production designer Rosario Provenza
Costume designer Deborah Shaw
Editor Melissa Gerrero
Music Mark Governor
Line producer Holly Keenan
Casting director Sharon Bialy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Paul Gary Cole
Crystal Tina Majorino
Lea Sheila Kelley
Dan Jere Burns
Eleanor Lolita Davidovich
Alex Richard Schiff
Culpepper Michael Harris
Nancy Pamela Reed
Richard Adan Sanchez
Running time -- 97 minutes...
Playing as a dramatic competition entrant here at the Sundance Film Festival, "Santa Fe" is a droll tale that should fork some decent returns on select-site roads. In particular, fans of novelist John Nichols, who has written extensively about the area in his New Mexico trilogy, will appreciate its satirical sense of the Southwest.
In this dry and dusty sendup, Gary Cole stars as Paul, a brainy lawman who was nearly killed in the line of duty and whose status as one of Santa Fe's finest was jeopardized by his being in a cult. A serious and scholarly sort, Paul's hostility to the pseudo-spiritualist gibberish of the area is topped off when he finds that his wife (Sheila Kelley) has taken up with a New Age acupuncturist. Further riling his sensibilities, Paul's daughter has become enamored with a self-help guru (Lolita Davidovich). Paul's predilection to quote Jean-Paul Sartre and remonstrate to them does not further endear him to his family, including his sister, a feisty councilwoman who has decided to run against the current mayor, an L.A. refugee.
In all, the film is a percolating mix of personal problems and philosophical conundrums and, best of all, writers Mark Medoff and Andrew Shea have rattled it up with all the spicy trappings of life in the area. Overall, "Santa Fe" is a portrait of a mind-set, filtered through the contradictions of that city. If "Santa Fe" has a problem, it is that it does not know its own boundaries -- the writers have woven too much tapestry into this format.
Shea's sly sensibility serves the film well, especially in his keen lensing of production designer Rosario Provenza's sunny-funny mix of things. Visually, "Santa Fe" is scrappy and succinct, owing to cinematographer Paul Elliott's smart sense of framings.
The cast is solid, especially Cole and Davidovich.
SANTA FE
Nu Image
A Doradel Pictures production
A film by Andrew Shea
Producers Larry Estes, Andrew Shea
Director Andrew Shea
Screenwriters Mark Medoff, Andrew Shea
Executive producers Sharon Bialy,
Boaz Davidson
Director of photography Paul Elliott
Production designer Rosario Provenza
Costume designer Deborah Shaw
Editor Melissa Gerrero
Music Mark Governor
Line producer Holly Keenan
Casting director Sharon Bialy
Color/stereo
Cast:
Paul Gary Cole
Crystal Tina Majorino
Lea Sheila Kelley
Dan Jere Burns
Eleanor Lolita Davidovich
Alex Richard Schiff
Culpepper Michael Harris
Nancy Pamela Reed
Richard Adan Sanchez
Running time -- 97 minutes...
- 1/23/1997
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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