SYNOPSICS
Guernsey (2005) is a Dutch,English movie. Nanouk Leopold has directed this movie. Maria Kraakman,Fedja van Huêt,Johanna ter Steege,Frank Vercruyssen are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2005. Guernsey (2005) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
Anna is a quiet, slightly timid woman of thirty. She lives with her family in the suburbs of a major city. Anna and her husband Sebastiaan have a calm and steady relationship. Before they got married he was her older sister's lover. Now all three seem good friends. Anna is an irrigation specialist who often travels to developing countries. During one of her visits abroad, a female colleague commits suicide. The woman has hung herself. Anna finds her. Even though Anna wasn't close to the woman, her death makes a big impact on her. No one seems to know why she has killed herself. For the first time, Anna realizes that you can remain unknown even to those you have most dear. When the dead woman's husband very quickly finds a new wife, Anna's image is confirmed. It is as if the dead woman never existed. At home, Anna doesn't tell anyone about the incident with the dead woman. Instead, she begins to observe her husband and her family and asks herself what she means to them. Guernsey is the...
Guernsey (2005) Trailers
Guernsey (2005) Reviews
The movie is like all the characters, there is no communication
Imagine we live in a world where people only communicate by saying one sentence. That's it, followed by a long silence where nobody moves as if we all let the words sink in. This is the world of Guernsey, slow, silent, morose. Even before the major incident of the movie, which is supposed to bring the main character into a kind of shock, she doesn't seem keen to talk or ask questions. She now just becomes suspicious of her partner whom she has plucked away from her sister. This sister has one big chip on her shoulder, she spits venom at every comment and makes every sullen teenager look like a warm personality. At the end we lose patience with this non-verbal "interaction", worst of all it seems to be resolved by again one sentence followed by an obedient silence, sigh. The movie struggles with time and place. As one can see in the end credits the so-called Guernsey scenes were filmed in Spain so it suddenly makes sense that the gardener is called Juan and the new house of the father looks like a modern Spanish country retreat. Why this Guernsey connection? Is the director trying to make some comment on tax-dodgers, an altogether weightier subject but rather out of place in this glacier paced personality crisis.
Unbalanced
For me every piece of art is to be judged by these criteria: Form, Function and Meaning. Guernsey seems to be dedicated to forms: nice shots and sometimes interesting acting. The long close ups suggest a function that the viewer may fill in by himself. Because of lacking texts the story becomes a quiz. An introvert person suggests to have depth, but sometimes it turns out he has nothing to say. This film acts like an introvert person. If you have not read the synopsis you cannot see that it was the suicide (and the unanswered question Why?) that changes Anna's view on life and makes her suspicious. 'Why don't you speak to me?' asks Sebastiaan. Anna doesn't answer, she only starts looking a long time at him without saying a word. What is the function of that shot? What does it mean? My question is like Sebastiaans: What has this film to say? What is meant by this movie? The answer for me: It shows us a handful of persons with the passion of a glass of water. The story of their lives is simple and boring. Motives behind their actions are not shown. The rest is: skins, residences, landscapes. Nice and artistic done, but meaningless without having disposal of 'instructions for use'. In my opinion this film is made for fellow artists, not for the common viewer.
Great photography and mood
Very stylish and mood full film, reminding me of great masters as Antonioni. Especially thinking of films as L'Avventura and La Notte. Through her slow and quiet way of setting atmosphere. It gets you really drawn into the story. Asking yourself questions and getting your mind at work. Don't worry it's not that it's unwatchable. It's just a film that needs some time to sink. The way the director leaves out music and often dialog set's the tone makes you notice different things than your used to in the average movie. She tells her story with great accuracy and very nice photography. I think a must see for someone who says he loves the art of cinema.
A good movie..needs a plot!
This is one of the movies that seem promising at the start, stay so until the end but don't go anywhere. The plot is poor, with no clear storyline, apart from a girl who doesn't talk much, finds a dead body in her bathroom and starts getting paranoid with her husband. "Guernsey" is characterized by many (too) long, silent shots, which do give a pretty good atmosphere, but clearly lack some action. Everything Anna (the main character) does, has unclear reasons, and she therefore soon becomes a bit annoying ("Talk, girl, talk!"). All the intrigues and relationships between the main characters remain superficial, where some surprising turn in the plot could (and should) have mattered a lot. In summary, the movie is worth watching when you like a grisly ambiance created by silent scenes, but you'll need a real lot of patience if you're waiting for some action, or any at all.
long takes don't mean it's interesting
This movie was long and boring. Surprising that it was selected for Cannes, although they tend to like pretentiousness. Point is that contrary to other Dutch stars of the arty genre like Kerkhof and Kruishoop, Guernsey feels utterly empty. Even more so it has no cinematic quality whatsoever. A long opening shot doesn't mean cinematic depth, it's just a long boring shot. The story wasn't interesting and the characters had problems I couldn't identify with at all. The actors didn't shine under her direction and seemed lost at times. Leopold tried, but she is not the talent I hoped she would be. Where are Kerkhof and Kruishoop? They really made some waves in Dutch cinema. Leopold just made another attempt.