Due to coursework and Christmas I ain't gonna be on here too much for a while
Due to coursework and Christmas I ain't gonna be on here too much for a while
Member since:07.04.2007
Reviews:152
Members who trust:92
The Story
The film starts with Norman and Lucy (played by Paddy Considine and Virginie Ledoyen) are a young couple travelling with Paul and Isabel (Gary Oldman and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón) to stay at Paul's remote home in the Basque region of Spain. They stop off at a bar on the way there and meet a crew of unfriendly country-type yokels. There is a very cliched scene here when they walk into the bar and everyone stops and looks at them. Paul speaks fluent Spanish however and doesn't let any insults go pass and makes something of an enemy of a group of locals who think of him as an arrogant foreigner.
They move onto the house and we start to see that Norman and Lucy are not the happiest together they have recently lost a baby and their relationship has suffered. Lucy is moody and dislikes Paul and Isabel dislikes the whole trip. Paul and Norman go out hunting and here's where the story begins. They get slightly lost on their way back and find a small barn. Paul wishes to investigate but Norman stays outside. Paul finds something inside that the villagers have been keeping as a secret in shame and disgust. Paul and Norman take it and try to contact the Civil Guard who are at least two miles away. Meanwhile the villagers have noticed their dark secret is gone and come after them.
My Opinion
This film is fantastic. Despite the whole sudden silence in the bar scene it is very original. I've never seen a plot quite like it. The script is very well written Lucy's disdain for the world and her bitchiness towards Isabel and Paul is very realistic and her interaction with Norman is very authentic. The characters are more than just film types and even the locals have hidden depths. The directing is great and the setting itself is very picture-esque. What I really enjoyed about thisfilm was the originality. No-one in the film is an outright hero. Everyone is conflicted about what to do, all of them think about just giving it up at points and just running away. No-one is invincible, beyond death and beyond making mistakes. There are no cliches apart from that mentioned and the ending says it all. Whether you'd call it a twist, anti-climatic perhaps or just a perfect ending I doubt you'll ever see it coming. I highly recommend this film.
The DVD cost me £12, which is abit more than I usually spend on a DVD but I wanted it soon being a big Gary Oldman fan. It has no real DVD extras just a trailer. According to the DVD case it is very similar to Dead Man's Shoes and Straw Dogs if anyone enjoyed those films (I haven't seen them)
Cast Paul is played by Gary Oldman - Leon, State of Grace, Harry Potter Norman is played by Paddy Considine - Cinderella Man, Hot Fuzz Lucy is played by Virginie Ledoyen - The Beach, other French films Isabel is played by Aitana Sanchez-Gijon - The Machinist, Spanish actress Kolda Serra directed the film and is a well known Spanish director
DVD blurb
Summer 1978. An English couple are going through a difficult patch in their relationship, and so decide to spend the summer with their friends in the north of Spain. Hidden away in the Spanish mountains, it seems the perfect setting for Norman (Paddy Considine) and Lucy (Virginia Ledoyen) to get their loves back on track, however, when old friend Paul (Gary Oldman) suggests a walk in the woods it starts a chain of events destined to end in bloodshed.
Cultural differences with the local villagers and an accidental discovery in the forest leads to a whirlpool of violence, evoking Straw Dogs in its dark tale of revenge coupled with outstanding performances from its key cast, The Backwoods is a very intense thriller from acclaimed director Koldo Serra.
The film is an 18 which I think is appropriate as there are scenes of sexual violence and bloody violence.
The films official website with a trailer: http://www.thebackwoodsmovie.com/
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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Sweet Jesus, Phelim, you've been watching some grim films recently. Are you doing Mortuary Studies 101 at Queen's, by any chance? On another note, I've been in bars in Holywood where the locals all go quiet and look at you like they're sizing up whether you'd fit in their chest freezer. xx
fizzytom 05.06.2008 17:49
I do like the sound of this one!
greenierexyboy 05.06.2008 17:42
Folk really do need to watch 'Deliverance' before they start 'interracting with the locals'...
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