Genres

Visitors Review

bellerouge 2012-05-24 03:01:12

Not much to it

The film's plot, such as it is, revolves around a teenage or pre-teengirl named Frances, who disappeared some twenty years ago and theprofound effect it had and continues to have on her mother and youngersister, Elise. Elise is now an adult but we have flashbacks throughoutthe film.Eventually some extremely vague hints are made regarding some thingsthat might have happened to Frances prior to her disappearance - butnothing is ever clearly stated.So what happened to Frances? Well, nobody ever really says - suicide,murdered, snatched by someone, or ran off? Just go with whichever oneof those strikes you.The film is more watchable than some films out there - but I would notparticularly recommended it. What it mostly has going for it is that itcontains no graphic sexual or violent scenes.

MarieGabrielle 2012-05-23 15:02:36

Beautiful sad story by Georgia Blaine...

Simply beautifully filmed, with Natalie Imbruglia as Elise, who haslost her sister under mysterious circumstances in 1987. They live onSemaphore Beach in Australia, she now lives with her mother who wallowsin deep depression from loss of her husband, and then her eldestdaughter Frances.Elise wonders what happened to her sister as they went to the beachdaily the summer Frances disappears. She works at an aimless job at amovie theater, models for her friend who asks why she wastes timedating Marvin. "he loves me, he really does" she wants things simple.She imagines at times seeing her sister at a nightclub, or walking thebeach.The set decoration is realistic, Elise's mother a waitress lets thehouse go when husband dies, the pink and green tile and cheap paint inkitchen reflect a kind of disorder. Elise's mother spends the next 20years cutting out news articles about other missing children.The beach itself portrays a sense of loss, then renewal afterturmoil...seems trite but it isn't in this film: there is no realanswer to anything, it is like having a loss in real life.I lost my mother to an accident in the 1980's and I suppose this filmhas special cadence for me. The loss, why did it happen...we see all ofthis as Elise wanders the beach, lives a half existence with herdepressed and depressive mother.This is a niche film, it should be seen a few times to pick up thehints and nuances. Ultimately Elise finds internal spirit, it is subtlebut we see as she plants the seaweed garden and moves on with life: itis never easy but somehow people go on, and Elise moves forwarddeciding not to live within the pain any longer. Highly recommended,especially for anyone who has felt deep loss. 10/10.