"Feelings of pain, panic, fear, intense unfocused anxiety, devestation, hopelessness, betrayal, shame, guilt, abandonment, vulnerability and futility may follow an incest victim throughout life."
I would like to alter this quote by exchanging the word incest with abuse (sexual, spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, verbal etc). As a survivor of abuse (in what forms, by whom, and the details of which I shall leave at this point unsaid) I can state without equivocation that this film is the most honest , accurate and unflinching portrayal that I have ever seen on screen. Though it’s brutal subject matter was probably unbearable for most people to view, I found it strangely liberating.
So often the subject matter of abuse is clouded in such ‘gooey’, cloying and overwrought melodrama that I can’t begin to stomach it. I spent many years in support groups with fellow survivors of various forms of abuse and in the majority of cases the silent, quiet, lurking, unseen, behind closed doors, under the radar, invisible to the eye that wishes not to see or has no reason to suspect nature of it was the reality.
Unlike the outwardly ugly monster that one would assume these people to be the abuser is often a charismatic, good looking, highly appealing and seemingly loving and generous person. I found the character of the father, played immaculately by Ray Winstone, to be a perfect example of this. Most accurate was his reaction of “turning the tables” when confronted with his abuse. These sociopathic personalities seem to truly believe that THEY are the victims and that those who expose the truth are ruining THEIR lives and for NO DAMN reason except their (the victims) selfish, ruthless, vindictive and sinister need to DESTROY them (the abuser).
In my experience these abusers NEVER see the light, NEVER repent and NEVER feel shame or guilt. They will re-victimize and re-abuse till their dying day. It is for this reason that I felt such relief and release when the brother and sister brought that dying day into the here and now.
Granting that this is rarely a feasible option in real life it is my vision of justice that every abuser spend the rest of their lives chained in a one room hell hole in which they do nothing but watch this film over and over for eternity.
Enough said.
20 comments:
If there had been an eight foot sign saying "Buyer Beware" accompanying this DVD I would still not have been prepared for the impact of it. I can't say I enjoyed watching this but the combination of the film and the review written here on the blog packed a wallop. Having thankfully been spared such trauma ,its an eye opener.
I can't believe that there were no subtitles or captioning available on this DVD. My mother couldn't make out a word of it and even with perfect hearing I missed at least 50 percent of what the father said due to the strong accent. It was obvious that the people involved in this project wanted the information on incest to be 'heard', so why would they leave out this simple function!
It was hard to make out much of the father's dialogue but we still managed to get the point.
NWIE-BMM-BMH-LLI-DNA-WWW.
Whew. I'm speechless.
Judging by "The War Zone" Tim Roth appears to be as talented a director as he is an actor. Tough subject matter and he tackled it head on. Lee, your post was heart felt and I resonated with it myself.
Speaking of Tim Roth, the Alan Clarke festival looks fantastic. I've already seen "Scum", the BBC TV version. I'll try to see all the films that you listed.
This is one of the saddest I've ever watched. Like Lee, I've spent years in support groups. And in my own personal therapy. I never would have seen this one on my own. gI am going to ask my therapist to watch it too.
Aside from its message, this was film making at its best on every level. Tim Roth's direction, Alexander Stuart's screenplay, The Devon countryside, veteran actors Tilda Swinton(MOTHER),Ray Winstone (FATHER) and unknowns Freddie Cunliffe and Lara Belmont (bROTHER & sISTER). WWW.
AFTER WATCHING CHANGELING AND WAR ZONE IN THE SAME DAY I MAY
NEVER WATCH A MOVIE AGAIN.
CHANGELING WAS ALL MY WORST NIGHTMARES UP ON THE SCREEN BEFORE ME'-WAR ZONE I DISLIKED FROM THE VERY FIRST SCENE . HAD I NOT KNOWN ITS CONTENT I STILL WOULD HAVE FELT THE SAME. IT WAS SO VERY DIFFICULT TO WATCH. ALMOST SHUT IT OFF, BUT KEPT GOING.
THE HOSPITAL SCENE (BABY) JUST ABOUT DID ME IN-THE ONLY SAVING GRACE WAS THE SOUND OF HIS
SUFFERING , WHICH WAS AT THE SAME TIME BOTH MUSIC TO THE EARS AND THE WORST SOUND
I HAVE EVER HEARD.
P.S. TINA24/7 SO AGREE WITH YOU ON CAPTIONING.
AND LEE, IT SEEMS THIS WAS CATHARTIC FOR YOU.
I HOPE SO.
Anyone take note of the young Colin Farrel?
I'd like to put a question out to the group here:
Does anyone have opinions as to whether the rape scene needed to be so 'unedited' in order to make its point? We watched The War Zone with a group of 6 people this weekend and this was the big debate. Ultimately the vote was 4 yes and 2 no.It started 3 to 3 but after our discussion one person's mind was changed. Personally I feel that having the scene as it was is the reason this film was so effective.
Yes Hooplah, I DID notice the young C.F. I'd like to add him to the "It's raining Men" list.
The kid who played the brother was so NOT movie starrish which made the plot more believable to me.It's rare to have a main character be so, quite honestly, ugly. It was choices like this that gave the movie such an honest feel. To JKRunner's question, yes, I think the scene worked perfectly as it was. Brutal and horrible. Like Incest.
I'm wavering back and forth on whether the rape scene needed to be so explicit. I saw a film recently called AKA which had a father molesting his teenage son. Even though they cut immediately before the actual sex acts began it was extraordinarily powerful and I felt the "brutal" horror of it. I suppose had they shown the rape itself it would have been even worse but I'm not sure that it would have made that aspect of the film more believable or shocking, perhaps it would have been less so.
Regardless, in The War Zone it worked as is and Tim Roth and cohorts must have felt pretty strongly that it should be shown this way or they wouldn't have stuck their necks out like this as it certainly couldn't have made the movie more marketable.
I applaud the guts it took to write, direct,film, act, AND watch this. Mostly I am amazed by the courage of any person who survives abuse like this and manages to have a molecule of sanity left.
I'm with Lee Paris on this one, if you can't kill these f---ers, lock em in a hole and hit the loop button.
Sorry, I just couldn't watch it. I got through about a half hour and saw the writing on the wall. I've no doubt this film is WWW but NMCOT. Count me in for the next discussion.
RE the explicitness of the rape scene - my vote would be to cut away from the actors and keep the audio while the camera focused on a wall or out the window. That forces the audience to dissacociate. I've always believd violence that is cut away from has more impact than violence that is shown in all its nastyness. (For example Humphrey Bogart killing his partner in Treasure of the Sierra Madre)
Advantages: Well acted
Disadvantages: Guaranteed sleepless nights
This is such a harrowing movie, starring Ray Winstone and directed by Tim Roth. It goes from powerful scene to powerful scene and I had trouble watching at some points. It basically tells the story of a twisted family affair from the perspective of a son watching the goings on between his sister and his father. A brutal movie that does not shy away from any of the controversy that surrounds it. I have not seen the film in many years and even just recalling it is quite a depressing experience. Tim Roth shows he is just as good behind the camera as he is in front of it, and Ray Winstone gives such a sublime performance as a father with a dark secret. But the real credit must go to Lara Belmont, who plays daughter and sister to the two other main characters. She steals every scene she is in, giving this bleak film even more of an edge.
Summary: Wonderful and dark at the same time.
Well Lee, I promised to watch The War Zone again, and I finally did. Not sure it was any easier the second time around, maybe even harder. This time the shock was mixed with dread, the anticipation of the horror to come. Don't really have much to add to what has already been said here, other than to let you know that after a second viewing I still think this is a great film: well written, perfectly cast, superbly acted, and of course, brutally honest. As you said, the most unflinching portrayal of abuse I've seen on screen. Unlike some I felt the "rape" scene was horrifying, but essential. I understand where David is coming from: you never see the actual shower-killing in Psycho, Jaws is more effective for what you don't see -- the shark - throughout most of the movie. Nonetheless, in this case I think it's more of a seeing is believing situation. You have to see it to truly believe it. To pull back at the penultimate moment would have represented a loss of nerve on the filmmaker's part in an otherwise note perfect film. It might have made WZ easier, a bit more comfortable to watch, but we've all seen those movies before and that is clearly not what Roth was going for. All in all, a great and honest film, one that -- like a bad accident -- I hated watching but couldn't look away from.
By the way, finally did get a chance to watch After Life though too late for the discussion. Thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the fact that I could not really identify with any of the characters. I might have chosen to remain in the way station with Mochizuki, but certainly not for the same reasons. I simply would not have wanted to forget anything. This is certainly not because my life has been so extraordinary, or even particularly successful from a worldly standpoint, but I have invested myself in living, in the people and things I love, in what I do, in all my varied passions, to the point that the real pain for me would be in losing, forgetting any of it. And yes, this includes the rough patches, the royal screw-ups, because those are the things we learn from, and I need them too, need to remember them and be reminded by them from time to time of who I have been in order to be who I want to be. Anyway, a film I'd never have seen but for this blog and a film I'm glad I watched, and certainly one that -- by its very pacing -- forces you to slow down and think a little about your life. Thanks Lee!
"Guaranteed sleepless nights".
(well said JohnC1977)
I recognize Ray Winstone from other parts he's played. He's an excellent actor. As is Tilda Swinton-talk about a brave performance!! And the kids, WOW. BMH.
To JKRunner's question, the complete rape scene is essential. I don't believe the film would have been any where near as effective without it for all the reasons that Oldman writes about in his commentary.
DNA LLL WWW NECOT
Hi everyone! To start on an upbeat note here: We have a new fish family in the tank. A dozen or so little orange (Sunburst Plattys for any fisholphiles out ther...) 'fry' were born to proud parents a few weeks back, just a few days after the sudden death of all the older fish that I wrote about. It is only because of the perishing of the larger ones that this group was able to survive. Otherwise they would have been eaten within seconds! Interesting to watch nature take its course and very healing for me.
As to the movie, thank you all for your comments. I knew this would be a tough one for all of us. Good to hear back from CarolynRT, jimmy, SILVER, hooplah, nevertoosoon, David, Craft, Oldman and filmluver.
Tina24/7, my mother felt the same way, she couldn't hear a word. It is ridiculous that there was no captioning available. Sorry about that! Welcome Mudflat77, looking forward to getting your take on the Alan Clarke Festival. Also a welcome to Anonymous, .com (30 Rock?), JKRunner, blackdog lives!(wicked cool name) and JohnC1977 from the United Kingdom! Hope you will all continue to join in our discussions.
A new comment has been added to 'Discussion of Kontroll':
I teach film classes and Kontroll is one of my favorite movies to both watch and teach.
I began some fun analyses of the movie a few months ago and my husband sent me a link to your blog and suggested I take a look.
I waited until I had my own thoughts about it and wrote them down... then checked out your post. Fun stuff - it's about the same as yours.
Another thought (and this may have come up in some of the replies which I haven't read all of) is that he is dead from the beginning, that the underground is some version of hell, and that at the end, the angel saves his soul. Owls are often precursors to a death.
Anyhow, I enjoyed reading your post - and this has got to be one of my all time favorite movies.
Hi Teresa!
I never did get around to seeing this somehow, maybe the Buyer Beware note. But I certainly have appreciated everyone's comments and the original posting by Lee. I enjoy the fact that these postings are much less a review of the films than an emotional/gut reaction to them. When I read these I can really 'feel' them, especially this one in which the subject matter obviously hit very close to home. There are plenty of places we can all go to read strait reviews. This is an unusual website and I'm glad I found it.
I've already seen the next film "The Business of Being Born". I thought I'd hate it as I was never a big fan of Ricky Lake. It turned out to be an excellent documentary on the subject. As you would put it:
W.B.T.I.E and W.W.W.
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