Twentynine Palms
In the insightful documentary that accompanies this film, director Bruno Dumont sums up that TWENTYNINE PALMS is a film about sensations that aims to get inside of an ordinary relationship between a man and a woman by showing the huge extremes between hyper pleasure and hyper violence. Renowned already for his own individual style with his previous films L’HUMANITE and LA VIE DE JESUS....
In the insightful documentary that accompanies this film, director Bruno Dumont sums up that TWENTYNINE PALMS is a film about sensations that aims to get inside of an ordinary relationship between a man and a woman by showing the huge extremes between hyper pleasure and hyper violence. Renowned already for his own individual style with his previous films L’HUMANITE and LA VIE DE JESUS (criminally unreleased in the UK on DVD), Dumont again stamps down his own unique storytelling ability with powerful effect.
We start of in a car, with a guy and his girl travelling through the USA to reach their end destination 29 Palms. Upon asking her boyfriend what he is thinking and receiving the answer “nothing”, the camera rests on her whilst she slowly is reduced to tears at his response. Whilst we are left to ponder his response and witness her reaction, it is us, the viewers who are left to fill in the blanks as to why she is very upset by this truly ordinary conversation. In effect, this scene is a great establishing tone for what is to follow. The film follows them on their journey, seeing the ups and downs of their relationship over a short period of time. Whilst their lack of communication is clear, their connection is what holds them together. They have sex in the desert, fool around in swimming pools, experience wind farms and are exposed to the USA as it is, without the usual filmic visualisation of this huge country. After 90 minutes of slow, ordinary life unfolding in front of our eyes, events suddenly take a turn for the worse. I will not spoil what this is but if you have made it this far into the film and enjoyed it, you will be sat open mouthed, maybe long enough to start drooling.
As it is firmly grounded in the ‘Art house’ variety of cinema, it is a film where you also have to invest something into the film. Although Dumont describes that this is not intellectual cinema, as his characters don’t endlessly discuss what is going wrong with their relationship, it is definitely cerebral cinema, and if you go on the journey it is a very rewarding one. The characters are dwarfed by the enormity of the American landscape, a presence as significant as the two actors themselves. It is photographed in a similar style to Wim Wenders’ PARIS, TEXAS, and for anyone who has seen that fantastic DVD reproduction (as well as one of the best sets of extras) you will know what to expect. Unafraid of being explicit (see L’HUMANITE), Dumont refrains from the graphic action and keeps us firmly focused on his two actors, a powerful approach that may lose viewers but will definitely give this film a place in film history.
EXTRAS
1. MAKING OF DOCUMENTARY - ‘29 PALMS…OFF’ (34 MINS)
As mentioned above, this is a great documentary. Not only does it provide you with a feel of what it was like to make the film but we also have a chance see Dumont talk about his film. As one of the true individual talents working today, this is not to be snorted at. The documentary also has the quality of not being too sympathetic, such as the moment when Dumont is explaining how he oversees and rarely controls the production, which is cleverly followed by a scene where he is doing exactly the opposite.
He also tells us that this project evolved by chance and that he was scouting locations for another film, when this idea came to him. As he had not made a film for 4 years and his new film was still along way from being financed, he wrote this script in 2 weeks and began as soon as he could. We are also informed about his approach to actors. He is not interested in creating a lasting friendship. They are actors and as he is asking them to do difficult things, he does not expect them to like him. All he expects is that they do what they have already agreed to do before filming started and get on with it. The main actor David Wissak also appears in this documentary and adds his own two pence worth. We find out that Dumont was casting them for who they were and that the qualities he saw in them is the qualities he wants their characters to have. As their characters are their real names this boundary is blurred, a fact that Dumont acknowledges as being tough for the actors, as they will not have the comfort zone of being able to say that they are playing characters, as they are playing a version of themselves. We also find out that their seems to have been many problems with the female lead Yekaterina Golubeva, who takes no part in this documentary.
Dumont outlines his own perception of the film and discusses some of the processes of his brand of film making, as well as issues relating to his own type of cinema. We see many interesting examples of things happening on set, such as a stunt man breaking his nose during a fight and a number of tense moments between actor and director. We are left in no doubt that Dumont is the master of his own films, and rightly so. This is a great little documentary and a must see for anyone who wants a small taste of this director and his approach to filmmaking
2. INTERVIEW WITH THE PRODUCER (22 MINS)
This is an interview with Dumont’s long time producer Jean Brehat. It is again another interesting document or the working relationship between a producer and a director. A dream producer of sorts, Brehat describes how, as long as Dumont wants to continue their relationship, he will always be their to help him. He believes that although the films will not bring him the success that most people seek, Dumont’s individuality and distinctiveness will remain longer in peoples’ and cinema’s memory longer than more successful films. He describes how they met and the nature of their relationship. He says that although he finds it boring to be on set, but he stays constantly, so that when Dumont needs to make an artistic decision that will require financial considerations, he will be able to provide an immediate answer and thus make the process flow smoothly. He is also questioned as to the nature of his interference artistically (as this is one if the main gripes with American cinema, as the producer usually has last say, resulting in the proliferation of films that have pathetic audience pleasing endings). He comments that in France it is the law that the director usually has the final say for any artistic decision, including final cut.
He also discusses the financing of this project and worryingly says that Canal + (a better example of the way Film Four used to work in the UK) has just stopped being a major investor in these type of films. Worrying times. He also illuminates on Dumont’s two future projects, of which FLANDRES is currently in production and will concern 5 characters, during a conventional 3 act structure that will all take place during a modern war. This time though, the film will be a linear straight forward film, a departure from all his previous 3 features that play around with time or narrative in some way. The other film, we are told, will be a science fiction detective film set in America but that it is not close to financing yet as he needs a commercial success to attract an American star to get the funding process kick started.
Brehat also tells us how exciting his work is, when compared to his previous teaching job and further provides anecdotes about TWENTYNINE PALMS and other things of interest. This is a tidy extra.
3.POSTER CONCEPTS
18 poster design concepts for the different territories. Interesting to those who are interested I guess.
The disc itself comes with an English or French menu display. The picture quality is again superb, with Georges Lechaptois’ Cinematography evoking and adding to Robby Muller’s work on PARIS, TEXAS, in capturing the vast menacing, empty landscapes. The sound is only in 2.0 Stereo but to be honest was crystal clear and unnoticeable from the 5.1 variety. The film uses no added on music and only has a diegetic soundtrack (like a radio turned on in the film world), so the sounds are all from the environment and the characters, used to great effect for building up the tension.
Released as part or Tartan’s Cine Lumiere collection, this is a worthy addition to any fan of Dumont’s work and those interested in more thoughtful cinema. For those who like big shocks, this is also a good one to see, just avoid any in depth plot reviews or write ups. The acting is great from both the leads and moments beautifully observed. If you can get into the banality of their life, which isn’t so hard considering the Cinematography is so great, then this will be a film that will stick in the mind for along time. Billed as an experimental horror film, this can only be applied in a loose way, as what we traditionally expect from a genre film is missing here. The horror in this story is the lack of communication that these people have, even though they are ‘an item’, their relative insignificance to the environment and how life can suddenly change. The extras are a great addition to the film and of interest for anyone remotely interested in the process of filmmaking. This would be one of those that would look great on your DVD shelf but if you can’t afford to buy it get it down on your rental lists. Turn up the sound and just wait…and make sure you are in a room with no flies in, as you just may end up catching some.
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