(2012-04-27 21:35:13)

A lot of wasted potential

A white couple lose their young son in a tsunami in Thailand. 6 months later, the husband has accepted his child's death, but the mother can't handle the loss at all and keeps seeing her son in other children. When they watch a video of Burmese children, the mother is convinced that the blurry kid they see only from behind is their missing son. He must have been washed ashore in Burma! After all, he's wearing a red shirt just like their son did! The husband doesn't really believe it, but he doesn't want to disappoint the wife he loves deeply, and he still feels guilt because he couldn't hold on to the son during the tsunami, so he agrees to go to Burma with her. Since the country doesn't permit travellers, they pay a very large sum of money to criminals to take them there and find the child. This leads to a life-threatening horror trip into the Burmese jungle.So far, so good. The plot is psychologically interesting, the actors are truly fine (especially Rufus Sewell as the husband), and up to a certain point, the story is convincing. But after a while, the director loses himself in weird scenes that don't make any sense, there are no explanations for the strange events in the second half of the film, and he basically steals from other movies when he moves into this section (think Apocalypse Now and the like). What could have been an interesting psychological drama turns into meaningless nonsense with a few shock / horror elements. The title (Vinyan means 'angry spirits', which are supposed to remain on earth after a violent death in many Asian beliefs) may explain the otherwise inexplicable hundreds of brutal children with painted faces that start showing up more and more as the film continues (maybe, I'm really not sure). But on the whole I see this film as a wasted opportunity to tell a good story with fine actors in an interesting landscape. I wouldn't recommend anyone to waste your money on this.

(2012-04-27 18:33:11)

A One Note Song of Self Indulgence

VINYAN (apparently meaning 'drifting souls') is a film that calls for stamina and courage just to sit through it. The story is so meager, related by an ill-composed, repetitive script (Oliver Blackburn and director Fabrice Du Welz), that the only reason to not turn off the DVD after the first 10 minutes is the hope that the fine actors Emmanuelle BГѓВ©art and Rufus Sewell might make something of the simplistic idea. They don't.A couple (BГѓВ©art and Sewell) lives in Thailand recovering from the loss of their only son Joshua in a tsunami. A video observed at a fundraiser seems to show (at least in the mother's mind) the presence of a still alive Joshua in a jungle in Burma. From that point the sole line of the story is the misfortunes the couple endure on a scam riddled journey to Burma to find their son. The ending involves a mountain of special effects and dreary children in silly makeup who supposedly represent the 'vinyan' of the title. The ending is one of gore and titillation in very bad taste. This movie is one to 'pass' when selecting DVDs form the local shelves. Grady Harp, April 09

(2012-04-24 20:31:35)

Well shot, plot weak

This movie is very beautiful to look at. It captures misery very well. The jungle scenes are well done. It works very hard to be "artsy" but comes off a bit pretentious. The acting is decent for the fairly weak script. The horror comes from the atmosphere and the mood. Both serve to make this film "interesting" but not really "good."

(2012-04-24 15:39:00)

Plunge deep into the heart of darkness

VINYANA spirit consumed by rage and confusion after being horribly stripped from the clutches of mortality._________________________________INTRODUCTIONA dismal, overwhelming sense of hopelessness resonates through every frame of this riveting mind-bender. I was a little shocked to catch this at a private screening during Fangoria's Weekend of Horrors. This movie might put your average gorehound to sleep, as the blood and guts spewage is pretty non-existent. But VINYAN has an unbelievably black tone, such a disturbing descent into madness that will leave you feeling completely drained and lifeless._________________________________CAST & CREW*Lead actor--Rufus Sewell (Dark City)*Lead actress--Emmanuelle Beart (Mission:Impossible)*Director--Fabrice du Welz (Calvaire)*Cinematographer--Benoit Debie (Irreversible)_________________________________STORYJeanne and Paul are an American couple working in Thailand. They are totally ravaged by the loss of their son Joshua, who was swept away in the Southeast Asia Tsunami. His body was never found, which left them a tiny glimmer of hope of his survival. Six months later at a charity fundraiser, they see a video of orphans living in the jungles of Burma. They catch a glimpse of a boy that resembles their lost child, and Jeanne becomes obsessed with searching for him.Their treacherous journey sends them on an ill-fated quest through the jungle, led by dangerous human trafficers._________________________________ACTINGThe two stars do a phenomenal job, very controlled and convincing. Beart especially, she completely delves into this role and is totally fearless. The final scene is so unbelievably shocking, I still can't fathom her putting herself through it. The MPAA no doubt would disapprove. A-_________________________________CINEMATOGRAPHYSome very spooky shots, very stylistic and engrossing. Some resemble the shots from IRREVERSIBLE, in the Rectum club. Along with the sounds, the shots set a very tense atmosphere. Plus there are hallucinations and drunken dreams that capture the desperation quite well. There are shots underwater, shots with a hand-held camera that were totally impressive. A+_________________________________DIRECTIONDu Welz did an amazing job with his first English-dialogue film. This isn't a story that will have a broad appeal, but he poured his heart into it. He does well capturing the emotional upheaval of the characters. He doesn't fall into the temptation of adding cheap scares to appease the casual moviegoers. Some might have issues with the pacing. I was leery as the climax drew near, realizing that there was no satisfying way to end this story. Somehow, thankfully, he proved me wrong. A_________________________________OVERALL GRADE AThis ain't your Hollywood horror film. Just a remarkably artistic and creepy cinematic experience, destined for cult status.

(2012-04-11 21:59:21)

probably the worst movie I've ever seen.

This movie was painful to watch. The only reason I kept watching was to see if the couple ever found their child. Well, that was a complete waste of time. The only memorable thing about this movie was the amount of tits shown & I will never get the image of about 20 young boys rubbing mud all over the lady & squeezing and groping her titties while she giggles and moans. Unless you are a pedophile, you will probably not like it.

(2012-04-11 06:02:16)

Frightfully Boring.

Like some of the other reviewers, I saw this movie expected it to be an undiscovered gem. The premise is very intersting and I'm a fan of Rufus Sewell. The only thing scary about this film was how boring it was. The director lingers way too long on scenes with no dialogue and random images. Possibly to make up for the total lack of story or characters to care about. I kept waiting for the film to pick-up and do something that made sense. One thing that would have made sense is for the lead male character to leave his crazy, pouty-mouthed wife in the jungle to talk to the trees. But alas, we're expected to believe that a pampered European couple could wander aimlessly through the jungles of Southwast Asia without running into anything worse than a pack of children with pointy sticks. Yes, the imagery was intriguing but I could have gotten that from a documentary film about Burma which would have been more interesting. However, a bowl of cereal would have been more interesting.

william_drac

(2012-04-10 23:18:22)

Sucked

It's sort of a metaphorical or message film. Acting was really good nocomplaints there. I didn't appreciate the way it was shot with a lot ofsingle frame scenes and a lot of (I don't know the term where thecamera operator is walking around following actors/characters around)these bumpy (natural movement) shots.Storyline is a lil' too deep for my liking and didn't want to wrap mymind around it trying to understand it. You could say it's not for thesimple minded (as myself...lol). The actors is what held me to the end,plus you cannot feel baffled at the very last scene where one of thecharacters is caressed by....... I'll leave it at that. You can makethe judgment yourself.Let's just say you wouldn't regret missing it.

IrishLass240

(2012-04-10 11:14:34)

Excellent!!!

This movie was fantastic! From beginning to end it draws you in andholds on tight! It is the story of a husband and wife whose son is lostto them in the tsunami. The mother comes to believe that her son isstill alive. They then begin an odyssey across the darkest and mostdesolate areas of Burma.Anyone who has ever loved a child will understand the depth a parentwill go through to save them. Initially the movie takes us with them ontheir painful quest to find their lost boy. But soon the searchingparents become lost in their own struggle. The ultimate ending isgripping and horrifying, yet understandable on a very basic humanlevel. You must give the movie a little time. Sometimes following theirsearch can seem drag you into their hopelessness. But soon enough, thetrue purpose of their quest is understood.

noyilao

(2012-04-04 08:23:13)

Disturbing.... a different kind of horror

I may be one of very few who actually liked this movie. If you like gorey, fast-paced, with heavy special effects kind of horror than this movie may not be for you. This is more of a realistic sad story that can really happen. Very artistic interpretation of a tragic and disturbing subject matter. Not for children, however.

Leofwine_draca

(2012-04-03 16:55:31)

Grim jungle yarn

VINYAN is a grim and gloomy film that details a couple's spirallingdescent into madness as they venture into a jungle hell in search ofthe child they lost during the south-east Asian tsunami in 2006. LikeAGUIRRE, WRATH OF GOD and APOCALYPSE NOW before it, you know withVINYAN that there's going to be no happy ending, and much of thesuspense is derived from the ever-worsening situation of the leadcharacters: watching them gradually leave society behind only touncover unspeakable horrors in the jungle is never less thandisturbing.The film boasts not one but two strong performances: Rufus Sewell isthe straight man and Emmanuelle Beart (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE) hisunstable wife, never the same since the loss of their child. Had otheractors been cast in the roles I might have lost interest, but these twokept me watching. That's good, because the direction isn't that strong:Du Welz goes overboard in his attempts at style and I found his artycamera-work to be more of a hindrance than a help as the storyprogressed. Eventually, there's a twist at the end and the introductionof some visceral horror elements that I wasn't entirely happy about: tobe honest, I didn't necessarily think that they had a place in thismovie, but they're here all the same and at least they give a sense ofclosure to an otherwise meandering production.

trashgang

(2012-04-01 13:47:08)

the movie needs it's atmosphere

Fabrice Du Welz is that kind of director who doesn't make a film everyyear. The best known so far directed by him was Calvaire (2004). Ahorror that really took you by the throat. Vinyan was his follow-upmade 4 years later. It's a complete other flick, still, it deliverssome dark moments. People are arguing about it in what genre you wouldclassify it, sure, it's a drama but the overall atmosphere gives it ahorror feeling too. Towards the end it do goes darker and darker andonce the children take over the jungle it surely reminded me ofChildren Of The Corn. As I said, it's the atmosphere that defines this flick. The openingsequence already gives you the feeling what you will get. And i meanbefore Jeanne Bellmer (Emmanuelle BГѓВ©art) comes out of the water. Theacting by her and Rufus Sewell is excellent. The score used is creepytoo and adds toward the atmosphere. It isn't arty but it leans againstit. The director surely knew what he wanted.The drama lays in the fact that Jeanne has lost her child and wants tofind him back against all the negative advise. So she travels with herhusband to the country she's thinking they could find him, but theyneed help from the locals, but the deeper they go in the woods theworser it gets. The horror lays in the fact that once they are deep inthe wood and are depending on some guys money takes over and people aredying for it. Naturally the locals doesn't like what's going on and areout for revenge. It's low on blood but the last scene is worthwatching.Excellent performances, great camera-work, good score, that's whatmakes it a special experience to watch. And for those who want to seeEmmanuelle BГѓВ©art in her nudies, she goes full frontal. Gore 1/5 Nudity 1,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

(2012-03-31 21:45:03)

VINYAN

This review is from: Vinyan (DVD) VERY HAUNTING FILM (*****CINEMATOGRAPHY) ABOUT A HUSBAND ACCOMPANYING HIS WIFES DESCENT INTO MADNESS TRYING TO FIND HER SON WHO SHE BELIEVES SURVIVED A TSUNAMI(?)VERY CREEPY JOURNEY INTO A PRIMAL JUNGLE AREA RULED BY ABANDONED(?) CHILDREN LIVING A 'LORD OF THE FLIES' SURVIVALIST EXISTENCE.NOT UPLIFTING, BUT FULL OF GREAT ACTING BY SEWEL AND BEART AND SUPPORTING CHARECTORS. NO CLUE AS TO HOW THEY CAME UP WITH SUCH A GRIM STORY LINE.

(2012-03-26 02:30:58)

An unusual human story

This review is from: Vinyan (DVD) I find this Thailand story with horror sidelooks well worth my time.It's not a great movie, but it has a feeling you don't find every day.

(2012-03-25 14:56:27)

Avant-garde gone awry

I completely get what the director was trying to do, and it was a mock-valiant effort on his part; the dark settings, the dream-like shots, and the faux-delusional performance by the main actress. The philosophical undertones are there, they just need to be dug out from beneath the hard-to-buy acting and set-ups. We are all interchangeable, at a physical and psychic level; in her state of utmost despair, Jeanne was hurdled into a psychotic state of mind, and very interestingly incorporating the semblance of delusional misidentification syndrome (namely, Fregoli syndrome); any and all of those children were Joshua. I do believe that this film could have gotten its point across, because the premise is actually appealing; unfortunately that was not enough to leave me with more than an empty sensation after it ended. The dude playing Paul was not believable, and his reactions to the bizarre situations arising were deadened by his own disbelief as an actor. Jeanne just figured that adopting the dead fish expression throughout the film would be sufficient, apart from a possible ripoff from the Piano Teacher with regards to the sex scene in which any and all human emotion has long abandoned her carcass. Now, the only crude emotion she displayed was during the final scene, and I believe this was not a scripted reaction; her smiling showed simply her obvious arousal with the situation, in a very primitive and sexualized manner, irrespective of any taboos people may have about the particular content. Again, it was the symbolic transfiguring into the literal, as the psychogenic bre*st was incorporated into the lives of children who had no healthy attachment to a caregiver, so we can look at the scene as a form of regression on their part, reacquiring the bre*st in an attempt to somehow be reborn through her... and she experienced the giving of life in this straining-to-be-poignant moment, and was thus reborn as well.

(2012-03-19 17:01:51)

It caught my eye too...DON'T DO IT!

I rented this movie with hopes of an unknown treasure and all I got was a movie that made the viewer feel more pain watching then the main characters felt losing their money over and over again. The movie starts with promise, I didn't expect great acting but talent was there. After about the first half an hour I wished for some shed of light to peak out of the darkness and there was nothing. The movie is simply the hopeless search for a lost child that leads his parents on a pocket-emptying journey through Burma. The father whines about the money he's had to fork over to the natives and the mother goes crazy. I am warning you: DON'T WAIST YOUR TIME!

Jeffery

(2012-03-19 04:52:06)

Complete Waste Of Time (You have been warned)

The movie is not even worth watching even if you watch for free. I am in the process of suing for my 1 hour 38 minutes of my life back. The whole movie is ridiculous. I want to kill the wife in this movie and everyone else that involved with making the movie. The husband in the movie did a decent acting job, but the script and story is horrible.

Darren Stewart

(2012-03-18 05:08:23)

hmmmmm .......

really, really bad. Characters extract no empathy, sub-plots and arcsappear utterly irrelevant and the ending, oh my God, the ending. I wontsay too much as this might spoil things for those with the stamina tostay for the duration but I am sure the young teenage lads werefighting for prime position. The whole thing was a complete waste oftime and probably one of the all time worst films I have ever seen. Mywife, who is prone to falling asleep when films don't grab herattention, stayed awake because she could not believe how bad it was.I know there will be the "arty" types who will post comments about howhaunting it was and how any contrary comment comes from the Philistinesamongst us but please, please, avoid this film if you value your time.It was and is, absolute tosh.

(2012-03-17 22:34:47)

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't bother to even pick this up and read the back. This movie was disturbing, boring, confusing, and horrible!!!! Only kept watching it because I needed to know what happened to their kid. Never did find out!!!!! Made no sense!!!!

(2012-03-11 23:13:35)

Not for everyone...

...it all depends on what you're looking for, what you enjoy, and what your expectations are.If you want a movie with monsters and other classic horror elements, look elsewhere. This is more of an artsy/angsty piece that is supposed to explore hope and despair.The premise is a bit flimsy, and I enjoyed the sequence of events more than I did the overall storyline. What held my interest was how the couple went deeper and deeper away from civilization. They go from a first-class city to a town, to a village, to the jungle, all the while dealing with unsavory people and trying to maintain their own safety, sanity, and money. It was interesting to see how the mom became more and more obsessed, ignoring the ever-increasing dangers around her and her husband's pleas to go back.The ending was both shocking and expected. It felt like an appropriate ending to such a weird film.

emma snow

(2012-03-11 11:10:25)

Slow-paced, uneventful & irritating. Not worth the time.

I really wanted to like this movie. I enjoyed that it had an uncommonpremise and that it wasn't just some mainstream Hollywood hogwash.Unfortunately, it was awful. The movie dragged, there was nmo hint ofsuspense, the dialogue was dry and there wasn't really anythingeventful until the last 20 minutes of so. The woman was incrediblyirritating; I found myself annoyed with the husband for putting up withher antics and her crazy claims. After a while I found myself watchingjust in vain hope to see the woman get locked up in a psych ward or geteaten by an animal to make this irritating waste of time movieworthwhile. Save yourself the time, that could better (and moreentertainingly) be spent brushing your teeth, counting the cracks inthe sidewalk and so forth!