• _Submergence_

    From septimus_millenicom@q.com@21:1/5 to All on Wed Sep 5 22:50:31 2018
    We sat grown quiet at the name of love;
    We saw the last embers of daylight die,
    And in the trembling blue-green of the sky
    A moon, worn as if it had been a shell
    Washed by time's waters as they rose and fell
    About the stars and broke in days and years.

    W.B. Yeats, "Adam's Curse"


    I think Wim Wenders has taken a step back with _Submergence_. His _Every
    Thing Will be Fine_ is a soulful exploration of a writer's life and guilt,
    and the boy and women who cross his path. It is anchored by spectacular
    work by the veteran actresses Marie-Josee Croze and especially Charlotte Gainsbourg. It is set in Montreal and is Wenders' "snow film" -- the cinematography and compositions are amazing.

    _Submergence_ is based on a novel which tries to find convergence between
    the rarefied lifeforms deep undersea, and the jihad-infested coastlines
    of Africa. I have a hard time buying into the supposed profundity of this
    high concept (probably a fault with the source material, not the director).
    It must be said that the settings (Somalia coastlines, Normandy, and
    deep beneath the ocean) are as visually spectacular as the previous film.
    But James McAvoy, a supposed MI6 agent, is strangely inert, a passive
    victim of jihadists who have captured him. Alicia Vikander is a very
    bland and technically limited actress that for whatever reason finds
    prominence in current cinema. She plays a scientists who dives in a
    deep-sea sub to explore lifeforms that grow near underwater "smokestacks." (This is made out to be some revolutionary discovery, but is actually
    extremely well-known; smokestacks are frequently speculated to be the
    origins of life on Earth.) But there isn't a spark, an inquisitive intelligence to Vikander's PhD scientist whatsoever. Rachel Weisz's
    Hypatia in _Agora_ she is not.

    Another unkind comparison is Alona Tal, who plays a professor having
    a fling with a Seal Team commando in TV's "Seal Team." That TV
    series is quite pedestrian, but Tal is so much more convincing as
    a professor. Incidentally, Tal did an unforgettable recital of Yeats'
    "Adam's Curse" in the very forgettable amazon prime series "Hand of
    God." Vikander and McAvoy recite lots of literature, but neither
    has the charisma and soulfulness of the Israeli-born Tal, who should
    be a much more of a household name. It is revealing that both lead
    characters' lives in _Submergence_ are constantly in danger, but
    there seems so much less at stake than in the excellent _Every
    Thing Will be Fine_.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)