After years away a man returns to the remote island where he was born. No one recognizes him so he's put on trial. It is told in the style of Von Trier's DOGVILLE but with an occasional wall
Well made and well acted this is, in a lot of ways, one of the better films at this year's NDNF. It's good enough that I wish the artifice wasn't there. I know it's the result of budgetary concerns but to me the weird mix of reality and unreality didn't always blend. I say that because eveytime I was falling into a scene the revelation of it just a movie pulled me out of the village. The almost reality feels less real and more like a theater piece that wasn'r fully opened up.
Echoing other films as such THE RETURN OF MARTIN GUERRE, THE ASTRONAUTS WIFE or THE IMPOSTER the film frequentl;y manages to create it's own place- done in the the deliberate telling. At the same time the never quite manages to over come the familiarity, especially since the film's plot never reall surprises us. We have been here before and writer directoe Kai Stanicke doesn't give us enouigh to remain fully engaged in the films two plus hours.
That said, there is enough here to give the film a shot if the write up interests you
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