Thursday, March 31, 2011

Heartbeats - A film pulsing with life

Heartbeats written, directed by, and starring Xavier Dolan opens this week at Dendy Cinemas, Newtown - http://www.dendy.com.au/index.asp

It's release is limited to one cinema in Sydney which is a shame because it is a beautiful visual feast from the opening shot through to the last line of the credits. For any film students seeking a deeper understanding of mise en scene every take of this film provides a perfect example.

The premise is that two friends become mutually infatuated with the same man, thus putting aside their friendship and becoming rivals for his affections.  The resulting heartache is palpable.  The narrative is lose and flowing, the colours are vivid and passionate, the soundtrack is vibrant and pulsing, very much in keeping with heartbeats and heartaches. Xavier is sparing with dialogue allowing the visuals to do the work. All this is made more extraordinary because Xavier was just 21 when the film was made.

I can't recommend this film highly enough. Run to Dendy Newtown, don't walk or you might miss it.



No comments:

Post a Comment