NYFF52 REVIEW: JAUJA
To fully explain JAUJA, the new uber-experimental film by Argentinian filmmaker Lisandro Alonso it would take a man who was...well... Lisandro Alonso. Made up of increasingly beautiful landscapes, scant traces of dialogue, and visions of an earth who's terrain is so mountainous and ongoing, it almost feels like another world. It's the first time Alonso has worked with a co-screenwriter (poet Fabian Casas) and he sets his entire film on the shoulders of Viggo Mortensen and the round bordered 4:3 frame every sequence is set against. It's an unnamed period in time, late 1800's so it seems, and starts off introducing Mortensen's Captain Dinesen and his 15 year old daughter Ingeborg (Viilbjork Agger Malling). He's joined up with a Spanish troupe ready to make this part of the world "civilized land." One night, Inga takes off into the darkness with her soldier boyfriend, Dinesen sets off on his own to find her and bring her back home. Though where home is may be a question all on its own, as they are mainly drifters, heading from one place to the next. From here on, little dialogue is spoken (save for a few mumbles and yells here and there) as we follow Mortensen from landscape to landscape on his quest to find his young daughter.
I'll admit that there is much of JAUJA that I didn't quite get, or even like. For the most part, the entire middle section of the film truly tried my patience. But just as I was ready to give up along comes a strange and unhinged third act that pulled me back in and even brought shades of "David Lynch" to mind. Director Lisandro Alonso is not making a movie for the masses here, and he doesn't care to. Instead he's crafted a film that's beautiful, confusing, pretentious, and beautiful. To say that it all makes sense after one viewing would be a lie. But should you reward the film with your patience, and I'm on the fence if you should, you will be treated to a subtle, wonderful performance by Mortensen and a dizzying of an ending. Just make sure you've had eight hours of sleep before you sit down in a darkened theatre to experience it.
VERDICT: ON THE FENCE
Written by Lisandro Alonso & Fabian Casas Directed by Lisandro Alonso Starring Viggo Mortensen, Viilbjork Agger Malling. CONTENT ADVISORY: Adult Situations, Adult Language, Brief Nudity
BOTTOM LINE: JAUJA is original, for better or for worse. Head in with an open mind, or don't head in at all.