Aurora (2012) Reviews

• A sci-fi conundrum interspersed with an erotically-charged, luscious program of modern dance

  larry-4112012-10-07

  Stanley Kubrick meets Gaspar Noe in Lithuanian director Kristina Buozyte's third feature, co-written with Bruno Samper, a visually stunning, sexy sci-fi romantic thriller that's winning awards and taking festivals by storm. Here, at Fantastic Fest, "Vanishing Waves" took four of the five jury trophies in the Fantastic Features category: Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Actress (Jurga Jutaite). Don't arrive late because a brief opening narration sets up the story's premise. In a line, scientists discover a way to wire the "inactive" brain of a comatose patient (Aurora, portrayed by Jurga Jutaite) with that of a healthy subject (Marius Jampolskis as Lukas) as a way of peering into the secret workings of the coma victim's mind. Of course, things don't necessarily go as planned. Fans of 9 Songs and Anatomy of Hell will appreciate the continual forays into what some might call a soft porn ballet as the neurological experiments progress. More than anything, the movie is a sci-fi conundrum interspersed with an erotically-charged, luscious program of modern dance. Jutaite and Jampolskis are absolutely wedded to these performances. Emotions are delicately underplayed, with the focus on the on screen pas-de-deux. There's very little dialogue as the script favors feelings and thoughts over actions and reactions. The lush look of the film is its overarching achievement. It opens with a ONEr -- a single long take that immediately establishes this as a cinematographic showcase. Director of Photography Feliksas Abrukauskas helps craft a motion picture that would be gorgeous to watch even without any plot at all. "Vanishing Waves" has, unquestionably, some of the most beautiful cinematography of any film I've seen all year. The regular but judicious use of single takes and long tracking shots enhance the fluidity of the action and keep the characters constantly in motion within the frame. There are no shaky hand-held images here -- this is a study in the effective use of Steadicam in telling a story beyond the limits of the scripted page. Editor Suzanne Fenn trusts the viewer's eye will know when to take a rest from this delicious assault on the senses and keeps cuts to a minimum. Aurora and Lukas are bathed in light, viewed in oversaturated images almost devoid of color. The film is filled with the blacks and grays and whites so ubiquitous in the science fiction genre. The monochromatic clinic set is black and white. Shots in Lukas' house utilize a cold color palette dominated by pastel blues. The only primary colors on display owe their appearance to the occasional food-centric dream sequence. Peter Von Poehl's sweeping original score rests on a continuous humming that echoes the electronic drone of the medical equipment as well as the imagined workings of the human brain. It's magnificently integrated into the narrative. "Vanishing Waves" is simply gorgeous to behold. The premise is elegant but the execution of the dream sequences will sweep you off your brain. This is a singular cinematic experience to savor like an all-night gourmet meal or foray into sexual experimentation. Or both at once.

• Intense and surreal

  mario_c2013-03-06

  I've seen today this VANISHING WAVES from the promising Lithuanian director Kristina Buozyte at "Fantasporto" (film festival from Oporto, my hometown) and I was amazed with it! I already knew it had won some important prizes, including one Melies D'Or, as the best European fantastic feature film, but even so I wasn't expecting such remarkable movie. It combines many genres and sub-genres of cinema (from sci-fi to mystery thriller, romance to surrealism, among others) but it ends being a unique experience with an excellent directing work. At parts it made me remind some surrealistic movies of the 70's and their weird and abstract cinematography! I don't know if it was intended or not but I think it resembles to them in so many scenes! The plot is not so ambiguous and twisted like those 70's surreal movies but at parts it's also a bit unclear and puzzling. However, at the end I think the message is quite clear and strong! But in a film like this the plot is what matters the less anyway. The beauty of this movie is in its colors, its intensity, the weird scenarios and the surreal ambiences! The camera work is also excellent showing some twisted angles and some little details that provide an amazing visual effect. I was perfectly astonished with this film and from now on I'm expecting a lot from this director, Kristina Buozyte (which besides a good director seems to be a sympathetic person; she was also there at Fantasporto, presenting the movie!:)

• Visually stunning, but dramatically inept

  Roel19732015-09-18

  Lukas is a young scientist who partakes in an experiment whereby his brain waves are connected to those of a comatose female patient. The goal is to ascertain if data can be transferred from one brain to another. Of course, Lukas cannot know anything about the patient, because that could influence the outcome. Lukas enters the isolation tank, and sinks deeper and deeper into his own subconscious. At some point he enters the subconscious of the patient, who turns out to be named Aurora. They fall for each other and make love multiple times during Lukas's visits. Lukas chooses not to say anything to the researchers, because he is violating protocol (he's only there to observe, not to make contact) and that would consequently endanger his future visits to Aurora. His affair with the comatose woman not only endangers the experiment, but also his private life, as his obsession with Aurora grows. Vanishing Waves is one of those sci-fi movies that take place in the landscape of the subconscious, just like Dreamscape, The Cell and Inception. Director Krystina Buozyte makes that landscape quite beautiful and convincing, with lyrical photography, striking locations and surreal visual effects. Technically this film is quite good. But I have a big problem with the main character Lukas, who is not someone to root for. Once he has met Aurora, no one in the real world can match up to her. So he abuses his girlfriend and sexually attacks a prostitute. Is that really necessary for Buozyte to make the point that an immature man might become obsessed with what is in essence a dream woman? Maybe, but the result is a protagonist who the viewer cannot identify with and whose predicament leaves you cold. A film with way too little plot to fill a runtime of two hours should not keep its viewers at a distance like this. Also problematic are the supporting actors, more specific: everyone in the laboratory. They all speak English, but so poorly it sounds like they are reading their lines phonetically.

• Surreal yes. Realistic not so much.

  Joel-942-1440752013-08-02

  This movie, in my opinion, fails from the start because it's built upon a false premise; that a scientist would lie about odd results in an unexplored field. His training tells him that every piece of data is important until proved otherwise. Far all he knows, what he thinks 'might be his imagination' could be the answer to what they're looking for! It's his job to collect the data NOT cherry-pick what he thinks is significant. If this was a test-subject off the street, it might have been believable, but as a team member, with grants and Pulitzer prizes on the line.. I don't think so. Certainly plenty of successful movie plots have had a scientist break- ranks. Those movies though, get you to suspend your disbelief, by always clearly justifying motivations. In this movie they don't do this, and that's where IMHO this movie fails. In conclusion: The surrealism of this movie, as with many like it, is hard to get used to. Add in the weak premise, sparse dialog, flat emotional tones, and it was tiresome, hard to feel connected to the characters. I actually had to force-feed myself the middle of the movie, waiting for it to develop. IT does a bit, but not with any shattering payoff... 'Altered States' (1980) and 'What Dreams May Come' (1998) did a much better job with surrealism. I give it a 6.0 for imagery, and 5.5 for story development = 5.8

• Ponderously slow

  Data-10012014-11-20

  This would have worked much better as a 20-minute short. Even at that, it would have been *interesting*... but not anything all that special. To clarify where I'm coming from, yes, I like many so-called art-house films, and don't mind long takes per se, but this movie had so many scenes where I was begging for them to end and move on to the next bit of business, because they were so tedious. More problems: The leads are not particularly charismatic, nor do we ever really care about any of the characters. And overall, this film just doesn't really have much to say. About anything. Honestly, I cannot really even explain why I sat through the entire length of the film, other than to say I suppose I kept hoping for something to happen. There were no surprises here whatsoever. The only reason I'm leaving this review here is so that other people don't stumble across it and get the impression from some of the other comments that it's worthwhile seeing. In my opinion, it's not.