Genres

Visitors Review

KineticSeoul 2012-05-18 00:13:19

War trauma drama

This movie is basically about how even a photojournalist(Colin Farrell)who is a vet at taking pictures of war and death can be traumatized.The story starts off with a very ambitious journalist and photographerthat sees the horrors of war with his partner and best friend. Thething is at first I just didn't think the stuff he went through in thebeginning section of the movie would be enough to traumatize a personlike the photojournalist in the movie. But there is enough flashbackslater on to show the reason why. I personally thought it should haveput more emphasis on the horrors of war and the part about thephotojournalist's wife figuring out the change in her husband seemed todrag. Also some of the situation just isn't all that believable, andbelievability is a key factor for a movie like this. And most of thestory revolve around digging into the photojournalist's mind because ofhis change in character and the change in his character isn't anythingall that terrible. It starts to pick up and get a bit interesting whenChristopher Lee who is basically a psychologist in this is put into theequation. And the digging of the mind got interesting and this moviehas some good parts. But the direction and everything else isn't allthat well made in a professional manner and just seemed like a workdone by a novice. Now not all movies should look professional in orderfor it to be better, but this is the type of film that would have beenbetter if it went that direction.5.5/10

Linda M 2012-05-17 09:14:50

triage

COLIN SHOULD GET AN ACADEMY AWArd for this performance. best he has ever done. i had neve heard of TRIAGE. picked up from net flicks. should have been advertised more. very good movie. A+

KarenSantaFe 2012-05-17 16:37:59

A Must-See

I was very moved by this film. I loved the pacing, the movement backand forth in time, the many-layered meanings of the word "triage".Colin Farrell's work just gets better and better, he is fast becomingmy favorite actor. The camera work is gorgeous too, kudos to the DP.I'll keep this review short, but suffice it to say, this is a Must-See.Right up there with some other finely wrought journalism/war films,like "Welcome to Sarajevo," and general war films, like John Boorman's"Beyond Rangoon." I'm ordering the book to read and then plan tore-watch the film too. It's not often an author pulls of a greatadaptation, but judging from the film, he sure did here.

2012-05-16 19:22:06

The Numbing. Destructive Silences of War Experience

TRIAGE is a well chosen title for this film about who survives an who dies in war: at times those triage decisions are made by serendipity (read 'bad luck'), at times they are made by physicians or medics tending the wounded on the battlefield, and at times they are submerged in the apparent 'survivors' only to later crush the life from those who make it home. Writer/Director Danis Tanovic has adapted Scott Anderson's novel is a manner that carries the seemingly simple act of 'triage' throughout the film, showing how that action can affect the lives of friends, family, and psychological wholeness of the victim.Mark Walsh (Colin Farrell, in yet another powerful role) and his buddy David (Jamie Sives) are war photographers for a newspaper edited by Amy (Juliet Stevenson). Their current assignment is Kurdistan and the terrifying realities they not only experience but also commit to film are of such a horrid nature that they both are in shock: they not only witness killings and landmine explosion deaths, but they also watch one Dr. Talani (Branko Djuric) triage the wounded, deciding who can survive care and who is so near death that they are put aside to be later 'executed' by Dr. Talani in a compassionate gesture to end their futile suffering. The tension is so great that David decides to return home, leaving Mark to carry on the assignment. An explosion occurs and Mark is seriously injured but survives and after being tended by Dr. Talani he is encouraged to return home. There is no news as to where David is.Mark returns home to his adoring Elena (Paz Vega), presents his photographs to Amy, and begins to heal: David's wife Diane (Kelly Reilly) is due to deliver their first child in two weeks and has had no word from David. We watch as Mark, eroded by his experiences in Kurdistan, retreat into a state of decline. Elena grows fearful as Mark, despite hospitalizations and medical care, continues to deteriorate and out of desperation she calls her grandfather Joaquin, a psychiatrist who treated the victims of the Spanish Civil War (Elena is still angry that her own grandfather treated the perpetrators of the destruction that war caused). Joaquin slowly brings Mark into the acceptance of how his mind has triaged the events in Kurdistan and leads Mark to discover the truths about incidents in what war for which he has blamed himself. We finally understand David's disappearance at the moment when his and Diane's child is born.This is a tough story to watch: subtitles would help the audience understand the many dialects used in the film. But the message is clear and the acting is superb by every member of the cast, even very small but cogent cameos by Reece Ritchie as a boy in Beirut and Dada Ashi as a Ugandan woman - two of the early incidents Mark must remember and face in his work with Joaquin. The cinematography is dazzling, especially the use of flashbacks of a raging river so important in Mark's memory recall, and the constant focus on the blue and yellow tags that mark the triage decisions. This is another powerful anti-war film, this time as seen through the eyes of a non-combatant observer. It is important to see. Grady Harp, July 10

2012-05-07 20:03:48

Don't Waste Your Time

There are many better movies that fit into this genre out there. Yes, war is hell, but so is bad acting and writing.

Brian Orndorf 2012-05-07 16:10:58

It's a film to admire from afar, taking on the challenge of depicting war zone trauma, but it rarely connects in any sort of profound manner.

glreyhan 2012-05-05 17:09:48

Wrong Story

The story which the movie was based on is a wrong story. Kurds havenever been in a war against Turkey or Iran. They were welcome. Thepeople living in the caves are terrorists not the Kurds. I am living inTurkey. I know the people who live in Northern IRAK. They are not theKurdish People. They are PKK. I don't know where they get the story.These terrorists have killed tens of thousands of people since thisterrorist organization's foundation. Even their own people, even womenand children. They're in Kurdistan.?? There is no place calledKurdistan. Look at the maps. In early nineties, tens of thousands ofKurdish people came to Turkey running from Saddam. Turkish governmentoffered them every kind of help. Places to stay, food, helthcare andeverything.

nikolobg 2012-05-05 12:22:12

It tries but at the end it is an amateur effort.

I blame the director and the script writer. This movie has good parts,but at the end if i had to pin the bad it is the way the story was puttogether. You see an 'amateur' directing with a vision which i couldnot agree with. I had trouble expressing whats wrong with this moviebut there it is - an amateur story telling.Without giving spoilers, i found my self disagreeing with the tempo ofthe action, the forced confrontations and negotiations, the argumentsfor why the characters are acting this way. It seemed that they weredoing it because the director demanded it for the next scene to makesense. Even in small things like the doctor saying to Farrell 'we foundyou by the river'... seemed to say to me, so that's why you are here asyou see we have a river in this country and you were by it and we foundyou, and so there you go, that's why you are back here with me letsmove on .... made me angry.So i disliked the movie as it was forced. Farrell is nice but workingwith this script/director is a pain to watch.

2012-05-03 19:10:11

Implausible Pieces

Totally implausible as follows:(1.) Cheesy, superficial acting on all parts. It seemed like actors were pretending to be roles they had no feel for, e.g. the terrorist/freedom fighters; the photographers; wives; the physician; the psychiatrist/confessor. (2.) Cheap and low budget - filmed mostly in hospital, living room, restaurant and a few acres of semi-brushy desert with a fake cave. (3.) Script and editing seemed rushed and insecure. The flashback technique to fill in the story just didn't work. The denouement showing a few seconds of someone with their legs blown off; screaming "I don't want to die!" and being carried piggyback style seemed more comical than such an important moment deserved.

2012-05-03 07:16:50

I was expecting more

This review is from: Triage [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Well since I was not doing nothing, I watched the movie. But being the action kind of guy movie, It turned out to be a girly movie. Sorry for all the gals but it's not a guy movie.

2012-04-29 19:54:56

Triage - A surprising gem

This review is from: Triage (DVD) "Triage" was a real gem. I enjoyed it much more than "The Hurt Locker", although I was expecting the latter to be great and sadly it wasn't, and I was expecting the former to be mediocre and it was great. Maybe that has clouded my judgement ... but not by much. The story is in two parts. The first is dominated by Colin Farrell and takes place mostly in Kurdistan. Farrell plays a photo journalist (Mark) who goes from war to war filming and documenting the events with his friend (David) who is also a photojournalist. Only Farrell returns home and he is wounded. What has happened to his friend and why does Farrell keep having terrible nightmares? During this part we see why the movie is called "Triage".The second part mostly in Dublin and is dominated by the legendary veteran actor, Christopher Lee. Lee plays a Spanish psychologist who has a 'shady' past and is (Elena) Farrell's wife's grandfather. They are not on good terms but Elena is desperate to save Farrell who is becoming more and more erratic and losing his mind.Through Lee's help we see flashbacks as to what happened to David.I found the story very moving. I am baffled as to why the movie was not given a general release. The acting is superb, especially by the two stars. Strangely, Lee's name is missing from the star credits listed by Amazon????Highly recommendedC. G Wilson

2012-04-29 00:05:38

Highly entertaining!!!!

This review is from: Triage [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) I must start out by prefacing that I am not a real big Colin Farrell fan, but I had to say that for there being no real hype of any kind about this movie, I found it to be one his best movies - he can actually act!! It is a refreshing tale about war & friendship...not told from the usual american point of view - it is a foreign flick. I would recommend it as a drama, war, or foreign film. Laying bets that you would find yourself afterwards thinking "what would you do?"...nice to see that not only hollywood can make a good movie, check it out!!!

Laura Clifford 2012-04-28 17:53:14

...the central character's journey, while metaphorically rich in an obvious way, lacks some credence when all is said and done...Branko Djuric's Talzani could carry his own whole film

Frederick B 2012-04-28 04:10:07

Boring

Interesting concept, but the movie was not interesting. In fact it was boring. I watched the whole movie and wanted, hoped, prayed that something would happen. ANYTHING.....Nothing happened because the movie is nothing more than a long drawn out drama that fails on every level to pull the audience in enough to care about what is happening to whom.

RichHartford 2012-04-25 01:14:47

Dark Tale About War

Triage is a film about a dark tale of a photojournalist who comes homeafter a dangerous assignment in Kurdistan during the Anfal Genocideagainst the Kurdish people.Mark Walsh is a photojournalist who has earned a reputation for workingin some of the most unforgiving locations on Earth, so when his editorAmy asks him to cover the fighting in Kurdistan, Mark takes theassignment and thinks little of it, though his wife Elena isconsiderably more concerned. Mark and his friend and fellowphotographer David head off to the war full of confidence, but whenMark comes home alone after being separated from David, he seems like adifferent person, gaunt and unable to relax. Elena can't get Mark totalk about what he saw that left him so traumatized, so she invites hergrandfather Joaquin, a veteran psychoanalyst with military experience,for a visit to see if he can help. But as Joaquin struggles to get Markto open up, the grandfather's presence ignites an old conflict betweenhim and Elena; the doctor was a supporter of Franco during the SpanishCivil War and served under the dictator's regime, and Elena has neverbeen able to forgive him for his actions against the Spanish loyalists.The movie stars Colin Farrell,Paz Vega and Christopher Lee togetherwith Kelly Reilly,Branko Đurić and Jamie Sives.It is based on the novelTriage by American veteran war correspondent Scott Anderson, and it iswritten and directed by Danis Tanović.Triage is about a person's war experience.The cast was brilliant buttheir performances aren't enough to make this a compelling and powerfulfilm. Colin Farrell was good enough as Mark Walsh but he wasn't greatin this highly complex role that was enough to really generate thesympathy of the viewer.It could have been an excellent film consideringthe relevance of the theme involved but it the cast weren't enough toelevate it into a classic film.

2012-04-24 20:21:13

Greatest acting by Farrell I've seen to date.

This movie has some of the greatest acting Colin Farrell has ever done (in my opinion) I almost did not get to see it as I was not aware of it's release until I saw at Blockbuster!Farrell and his best friend are photographers that travel to dangerous war zones trying to capture shots they may be paid for later for news, papers, etc.After Farrell returns home without his best friend - and having been injured himself, questions start about where is his friend? What happened? He suffers from flashbacks and pschylogical issues that are affecting his physical being.In every war story there does not have to be a 'hero'... with that being said there is a gentelman that tries to help Farrell remember what exactly happened so he may be able to move on with his life....that, to me, is a kind of hero.Farrells' character literaly goes through hell while in the war zone and after he returns home. What his character remembers from all this will probably affect him forever.Cannot stress enough the great acting from Farrell -Highly Recommended

2012-04-23 01:07:51

Gripping

This review is from: Triage [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) Triage is a solid, thought provoking film set amongst the world of photo journalism in war torn countries. Whilst to the public their material is often just a news article or photo to peruse whilst reading the morning newspaper the toll it takes on these journalists to bring these stories to life is much darker and their plight often overlooked in the name of sensationalism. Triage examines the human experience of working in hostile environments and the repercussions of such actions. All the performers are great but as usual it is a much thinner than usual Colin Farrell who really shines here, filling his reporter with strength, weakness and tragedy to really capture the essence of a man truly torn apart by what he has witnessed and what he has done. Its a shame films like this slip through the cracks and end up straight in the back corners of video rental shops and retail outlets whilst shallow big budget dross appears at cinemas across the country regularly. Recommended.

shreenidhi 2012-04-22 11:59:50

worth the watch

First of all, thanks to Colin for producing such a low-beat film. he has underplayed and well played his character as needed. This is a sincere drama about a guys losing his friends and facing a trauma. This is kind of homage to the Satyajit Ray's films, utterly to-the-point nothing jazzy. So go ahead n watch when u r in the mood of a good cinema and not just entertainment.

2012-04-19 15:44:23

Triage delivers great performances from Farrell and Vega in a wartime effects story

1 Disc Blu-Ray, released August 10, 2010"Triage" was written and directed by Danis Tanovic based on the book by Scott Anderson. The story takes place in 1988 when Mark Walsh played by Colin Farrell and his friend and colleague David played by Jamie Sives travel to Kurdistan to take war photography. Mark is injured in the process and comes home to his wife, Elena Morales played by Paz Vega and David's pregnant wife, Diane played by Kelly Reilly with a case of PTSD and an incomplete memory of what happened.This may be one of Colin Farrell's best performances as the emotionally complex often tortured photographer. He has an excitement about the work he and his partner are doing in Kurdistan and is able to distance himself emotionally for the most part until he becomes more directly involved. His last clear memory of his friend is of an argument they had about David wanting to leave and Mark wanting to stay and work more. Farrell plays well the escalating feelings of guilt and remorse as well as the pain his body has gone through. Farrell got rail-thin for this role making his body painful to look at. He is mentally confused and faces off with Christopher Lee as Elena's grandfather who in the past was a therapist for war criminals (another juicy role for Lee). Paz Vega besides looking beautiful is fantastic at the discovery process that her husband is no longer the man she sent off to war. She is earnest in her demands of Mark and argues her beliefs with her grandfather with a fiery spirit despite asking for his help with Mark.Kelly Reilly's performance as the pregnant Diana is very brave while still occasionally dropping down to show that vulnerability of her fears about whether he'll return.War is always a painful thing to watch and this film focuses mostly on the effects of war on the injured in the field without much in the way of medical care and the families back home of those meant to document, not even fight and how they can get pulled into it. The word "triage" means sorting people into groups based on the likelihood that they would benefit from medical treatment based on the severity of their condition which is practiced in the area Mark and David are documenting.This is a pretty decent drama unfolding bits of the missing pieces of the puzzle as it goes along from Mark's memory, but it is also sometimes hard to watch and I would not give it a second viewing.Bonus Features:There is a making-of "Triage" feature taken during the filming composed of interviews with the main cast and crew speaking about the book source of the film, the choice of actors, and the director. The "interviews" with the cast as a feature are really soundbites of bits of the interview that didn't fold neatly into the making-of feature. Lastly the behind-the-scenes footage is B Roll footage taken of the director and crew getting the actors and scenes ready to shoot without narration or explanation to what is going on. The names of all these bonus features make them sound like more than they really are.

lastliberal 2012-04-18 18:37:47

Peacefullness in a grown man; that is not a good sign.

As a teenager, Elena (Paz Vega) hated her grandfather (Christopher Lee)because he was a "fascist." He treated the fascist leaders after theSpanish War. His explanation of why he did so was most interesting, andshowed him to possibly be a great psychiatrist.She called upon him to treat her war photographer boyfriend (ColinFarrell) after he returned from Kurdistan and was undergoing legparalysis that was psychosomatic. Their exchanges as Mark (Farrell)relived his war experiences were fascinating, as were Dr. Morales'soliloquies.The film was excellent in showing the cost of war is far higher thanthe dollars and cents we spend to fight them. Without adequatetreatment, those who return will suffer the rest of their lives fortheir experiences. Farrell was excellent as was Lee.