A movie with an exclamatory title that, while it does struggle to find its voice, shouts loudly during its finest moments.
Anthology movies are often difficult to tie together without feeling shoehorned into each other on a tone-shattering collision course. However, this is actually one of the aspects that Eureka does remarkably well. The overarching anti-capitalist and colonialist themes are present throughout each of these stories in one form or another. The issue lies in not the overarching subtext but making each story interesting on its own two feet. This is something that Lisandro Alonso seems to lose a grip on as the film progresses.
The western is easily the most captivating tale on its face, with tense moments of action intertwined with a subtle quietness that Viggo Mortensen absolutely nails (seriously somebody get this man in a feature length western already).
We then take a sharp turn to a police officer who lives on a reservation, and the simultaneously quiet yet heartbreaking mundanity of seeing what her people have become. This portion is easily my favorite and contains the most subtext of the modern struggle of native Americans/Argentinians living in the United States today. My only gripe with this part is that the slow pace becomes a bit sluggish, and unfortunately the performances aren't quite enough to make up for the somber tone in several key moments.
The third and final point takes us to the Amazonian rainforest to watch a story of struggle unfold. This is where the movie loses me a bit. Had we been given more time to understand some of the background of these characters before many of the pivotal moments occur, we could have connected to their circumstances in a more meaningful way.
I really enjoy the implications this movie makes about space and time, and think it is a beautiful sentiment, but I did desire a bit more from the script to make Eureka stand out more.
A movie with an exclamatory title that, while it does struggle to find its voice, shouts loudly during its finest moments.
Anthology movies are often difficult to tie together without feeling shoehorned into each other on a tone-shattering collision course. However, this is actually one of the aspects that Eureka does remarkably well. The overarching anti-capitalist and colonialist themes are present throughout each of these stories in one form or another. The issue lies in not the overarching subtext but making each story interesting on its own two feet. This is something that Lisandro Alonso seems to lose a grip on as the film progresses.
The western is easily the most captivating tale on its face, with tense moments of action intertwined with a subtle quietness that Viggo Mortensen absolutely nails (seriously somebody get this man in a feature length western already).
We then take a sharp turn to a police officer who lives on a reservation, and the simultaneously quiet yet heartbreaking mundanity of seeing what her people have become. This portion is easily my favorite and contains the most subtext of the modern struggle of native Americans/Argentinians living in the United States today. My only gripe with this part is that the slow pace becomes a bit sluggish, and unfortunately the performances aren't quite enough to make up for the somber tone in several key moments.
The third and final point takes us to the Amazonian rainforest to watch a story of struggle unfold. This is where the movie loses me a bit. Had we been given more time to understand some of the background of these characters before many of the pivotal moments occur, we could have connected to their circumstances in a more meaningful way.
I really enjoy the implications this movie makes about space and time, and think it is a beautiful sentiment, but I did desire a bit more from the script to make Eureka stand out more.