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Reviews
Marie Baie des Anges (1997)
beautiful, but where are the parents?
The chaos of children running the world is a disturbing and possibly accurate portrayal of these characters' view of the world. Each is stealing, cheating and manipulating to survive, except that they don't know they're not surviving, just wild animals. The American sailors are punks, and it's a crime that they are the closest thing to authority figures in the story. Some characters are just brutal, or maybe a bit flat.
Marie is living for the moment, oblivious of her aimlessness. Desperate for love, she knows only sex. Orso, also desperate for love, doesn't know how to get anything without just taking it. Because he equates love with giving things, he returns to his violent nature eventually. Neither of the ill-fated couple are not prepared to succeed. These lead characters are undesirable, but I still loved them with all of their failings. I found the story unsettling and thought provoking.
Striking scenery and soulful, well-crafted acting drew me into the film completely. The clear beauty of the land and sea is visually stunning. It makes you want to go and experience it. Marie's gentle, natural beauty and wide eyed innocence (or calm?) are validation of Vahina Giocante as a star. She's the beautiful girl next door, the one you understand and don't understand at the same time, but love to be around. Orso's brooding and watching from a distance absolutely demonstrate Frederic Malgras' understanding of an outcast who finds the one thing he wants most of all. A part of me relates to him. If these two stars have that much range, why aren't they in more films?
Tanya's Island (1980)
a beautiful but weak look inside a woman
The subject is timeless and difficult to express, as so many have tried throughout history. Tanya is torn between her own strength and weakness. On the one hand, she needs to be independent, making her own decisions. On the other, she needs to feel secure and not threatened by her choices. She wants to be a creative helper in her boyfriend's painting, and doesn't want to be excluded, shunned or dominated. When he treats her badly, she explores a different relationship, something more beastly. Initially, the beast is exactly what she wants. As things change, she finds he's as much of a beast as her boyfriend is. I don't think she found what she wanted, but, to everybody's disappointment, she did find she can change her mind.
The forum is renewed from the likes of "King Kong" and "Beauty and the Beast", but depicts a darker side with surreal graphic violence. Her obvious beauty and the simplistic tropical setting set the positive tone very well. Choppy, cluttered, and confused filming sets the negative tone equally well. The unrealistic dream is reinforced by the notable absence of all Robinson Crusoe hardships. Only interpersonal conflicts exist. Between Tanya and each of the males, conflicts are materialized with sexual situations. Conflicts between the males are even more adolescent, with the full spectrum of chest beating, coconut throwing, sling shots and trapping each other in cages. The only winner is the viewer, and only if they don't object to the B-movie feel.
I found it hilariously entertaining, yet disturbing. It makes me reconsider my concept of what being a woman is.