Un lugar tranquilo

Definitivamente, Un lugar tranquilo resuena mejor en el ambiente de un festival, y el bombo y platillo de su gran estreno fue bastante perjudicial. Así que, para mí, bien por esta pequeña y sólida película de terror. Un buen trabajo de John Krasinski, me dio casi todo lo que esperaba. El único problema que tuve fue con la música, que me pareció bastante innecesaria (tal vez incluso molesta), y en segundo lugar, Marco Beltrami parece haber plagiado bastante la melodía de Jóhann Jóhannsson de Sicario. Cualquiera se preocupa de la originalidad en las bandas sonoras de la películas de hoy, así que tampoco me pareció tan grave. [KVIFF 2018] (04.07.2018)

La decisión de la pareja protagonista de introducir a un niño (gritón) en el mundo que la película crea, para que funcione en el horror y la tensión, hizo que para mí la película se desbordara por completo. El paseo inicial por el bosque, en el que los padres dejan que el más joven de sus hijos camine sin supervisión detrás de ellos como el último, ya sugería que aquí no estaría en juego la lógica del sentido común. Normalmente no me ocupo de estas tonterías en las películas, pero aquí representan eventos clave en la trama y van completamente EN CONTRA de la sofisticación del concepto del director de trabajar con la construcción del suspenso a partir de una idea interesante. Me dolió soportar la estupidez de una película que esperaba con tantas ganas y que podría (o debería) haber sido exactamente de mi gusto. (04.10.2018)

A Quiet Place is primarily an outstanding psychological drama about loss (of a loved one, one’s own voice) and the impossibility of letting go of the attendant pain (which, however, can be turned into strength, an idea on which the film’s climax is partly based). The characters have to keep all of their emotions bottled up inside, which only deepens the trauma. Their resources and manifestations of joy, which would bring them relief, are severely limited. Playing the game on which today’s society is based (because we do not want only to consume, but also to have fun) means risking one’s life. In this respect, the film is the antithesis of the dystopia of Ready Player One, which depicts a society focused solely on playing a game. The initial tragedy occurs because of a toy, the next one nearly happens while playing a board game (typically, that game is Monopoly – this is the only way that the characters can treat themselves to the pleasure of shopping). Partners can dance only while wearing headphones; otherwise the use of the technologies on which we are so dependent today is practically out of the question. Thanks to the superb actors, information conveyed in the mise-en-scène and the way the characters react in certain situations, we always understand what the protagonists are going through and what they are doing, even though there is almost no dialogue in the film. It is in this aspect that I see the film’s main element of exceptionalism. It shows what many directors have learned in (not quite) a hundred years of cinematic sound design – how a psychologically layered story can be told without words. Due to the focus on the characters, the slower middle section of the film, the woman’s decision to conceive another child (to fill the void) and some slightly sentimental moments (which, however, are disturbing only when applying a purely horror reading) find their justification. As a horror movie, Krasinski’s film is brilliantly directed and hardly allows us to breathe, even though he uses relatively well-known tricks and rarely gathers the courage to be truly silent. Not only with its content, but also its style, A Quiet Place essentially confirms that American filmmakers fear few things more than absolute silence. The film is thus not remarkable so much because of its work with silence than as a clear connection between the basic conditions for survival in the given fictional world (on must not make any louder sounds) and what the characters are going through. The fact that the film ends in the best way (without eliciting the feeling that something essential remains unexplained) compelled me to add a fifth star to the obvious four. 90% (24.04.2018)

A straightforward family survival spiced up with one interesting variation (the motif of silence, even if it’s not exploited to the its fullest) that is tense rather than scary. The first half is held up by that one idea and great craftsmanship, but the second half is brought down by silliness and breaking the rules the film has laid down. It’s a bit of a problem when at the beginning we are told the monsters are sensitive to the tiniest crack, but during the chase at the end, their sensitivity works in any way that is convenient to the script. Why, for example, in a key moment the boy runs into a corn field is something I can’t make any sense of (I’ve never run into a corn field, but I guess it would be pretty noisy). And the second half is full of moments like this. The monsters are unfortunately shown way too often and they look disappointing, like run of the mill creatures that seem to have fallen out of a Marvel movie (the typical alien minions of the main villain that are there so the super heroes will have something to fight). Although I sound critical, A Quiet Place is an above average film, thanks mainly to the quality of its craftsmanship and the performances. With regards to the horror, at the time of release (April) it will hardly reach this year’s TOP 3 and the comments of it being the best horror film in the last years are totally unwarranted. (13.05.2018)

A great idea which sweetened the horror waters of the year 2018. A movie where there is little talking, because it’s set in a dystopian world with an extraterrestrial civilization that destroys everything that speaks aloud. There is a whole array of logical errors, but the simplicity and originality overshadow the contents. The suspense is literally spouting from the movie and the married couple Emily Blunt and John Karsinski are truly enjoying this family horror drama. Just like the viewer, after all. Only from a slightly different perspective. (11.10.2018)