Philly Film Fest Day Four: The Lighter Side of Lars Von Trier
From cartoonish depictions of religious fanatisicm we turn today to all-too-real depictions. Day Night Day Night is basically Maria Full of Grace with a backpack full of bomb replacing condoms full of coke. I saw it with a friend who pointed out that Paradise Now covers similar ground, but focuses on the politics, religion and culture of its suicide bombers while this is more of a character study.
Day Night Day Night does, in fact, feel like what would happen if Jim Jarmusch decided to make a movie about terrorists. Watching the main character, whose name we never learn and whose politics are never revealed, clip her nails or turn a light on and off over and over is just as important to director Julia Loktev’s camera as watching her try on the last backpack she’ll ever wear. This attention to minutae makes for an interesting counterpoint to the gravity of the subject matter. Would you bother to shave your armpits if you knew you would be dead by your own hand in a matter of hours? (This focus on preparation, by the way, leads to the creepiest girl-trying-on-different-outfits montage EVER.)
In the end, Day Night Day Night proves to be a very disturbing, yet almost calm, even-handed look at the least calm, even-handed situation one could imagine.
On a lighter note, I saw a comedy by Lars Von Trier. Yes, that Lars Von Trier (like I’m going to say no, the Lars Von Trier who directed Norbit). The Boss of It All starts off as Von Trier’s take on Office Space and evolves into his spite letter to actors, corporate culture and people from Iceland. A very funny letter, as it turns out. With the exception of the so-so The Idiots, I really wouldn’t have guessed Von Trier had it in him.
Finally, Severance, the funniest horror film since Scream. Maybe funnier. Certainly bloodier. You may have seen this described as “The Office meets Deliverance” and that’s more or less apt. In executing this concept, co-writer/director Christopher Smith and co-writer James Moran don’t skimp on the scares to deliver the laughs, but the laughs are mostly what you’ll remember. Also features Laura Harris, whom you may recognize as the terrorist hottie from season two of 24.