Movielogr
Enys Men (2023)
Directed by Mark Jenkin
Twitter Facebook Google+Overview
A wildlife volunteer on an uninhabited island off the British coast descends into a terrifying madness that challenges her grip on reality and pushes her into a living nightmare.
Rated NR | Length 91 minutes
Actors
Mary Woodvine | Edward Rowe | Flo Crowe | John Woodvine | Joe Gray | Loveday Twomlow | Callum Mitchell | Morgan Val Baker | Amanda Rawling | Dion Star | Isaac Woodvine
Viewing History (seen 1 time)
| Date Viewed | Device | Format | Source | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11/12/2022 | Movie Screen | Digital | Theater | 8 stars |
| (Average) 8 stars |
Viewing Notes
My final film of the 45th annual Denver Film Festival. I did this one solo. I liked this quite a bit but I suspect most in the theater didn’t given how fast the piled out at the end.
Very atmospheric with minimal dialogue and a mixture of flashbacks, visions and present happenings that are at times difficult to distinguish from each other. All of that coupled with the main character’s repetitive daily routine might lull some into complacency or boredom, but for me I found it fascinating. The repetition allows the viewer to really start to immerse themselves in this tiny little world and examine details and background in a way one might not otherwise.
All that said, probably a hard watch late in the evening like this screening was.
The best aspect is how the film was made. It was shot on 16mm film using a hand-cranking silent camera and all the film was developed by hand in a rewind tank using a custom developer mix made out of coffee grounds and vitamin-B and other things. Because the film was shot silently, all the audio is done after the final edit.
The processing leads to a lot of idiosyncracies in the texture of the film that are completely random and uncontrollable. At first I thought it was some sort of digital post-processing but you quickly realize it can’t possibly be.
It’s worth watching just for that alone. Given it’s set in 1973, it really does feel like a film made in 1973 and it’s a very physical, real experience watching it. I’d recommend watching this BFI Q&A with the director on YouTube (though it’s about his prior film BAIT, they do talk about ENYS MEN about 3/4 way through, which was in pre-production at the time): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLgIFyCvlUc
This would probably fit right into the folk horror box set from Severin.
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