REVIEW: BABNIK
Posted by Cynthia Corral
BABNIK
Writer/Director Alejandro Adams returned to Cinequest for the third year in a row to astound the SJ Repertory Theater audience with the World Premiere of his film BABNIK. After last year’s controversial CANARY, many in the audience last night were not sure what to expect from Adams third film, but BABNIK is a perfect blend of suspense and Adams’s trademark confusion. BABNIK is a winner.
Adams has a great gift for infusing an intense amount of drama and fear into one simple, dialog-free shot. The closing scene of CANARY was one example of this, but in BABNIK he has given us a film chockfull of these scenes, keeping the audience on edge until the final excitement filled conclusion. If you have a preconceived idea of what Alejandro’s third film will be like, you will be taken by surprise with BABNIK.
The film is ostensibly about Russian sex traffickers, however it really focuses on one particular character who has been laid off, has no insurance, and owes a great deal of money. You see, the economy has made it difficult even for these criminals. Our main character also has no real penchant for being a tough Russian gangster, so there are frustrations between him and his employers as they try to given him training in kidnapping so he can repay his debt to them. Meanwhile we watch as the bad guys give the most simple yet terrifyingly creepy instructions to the young girls who have come for what they believe is a modeling session, and we watch and wonder what is going on with other females in the movie who appear to be well aware of the business that supports them.
The film is quietly terrifying and many scenes are overlain with an intense sound somewhat like a heartbeat which gives the viewer a feeling of horrifying dread of what is to come. The sinister Russian characters make the viewer very uncomfortable as you watch them trying to be gentle and supportive of the new girls. And yet there is also a lot of humor in this movie, and the audience laughed several times.
Adams likes to leave as much as possible up to the imagination of the viewer, and he walks a perfect line with this film. Instead of leaving the audience scratching their heads in confusion and frustration, in BABNIK he gives the audience just enough information that we can follow along and yet still draw our own conclusions. After 75 minutes of quiet terror the film suddenly shifts into high gear and hurtles the viewer through its action packed final scene.
Alejandro and his cast were there for an engaging Q&A after the film, and everyone was extremely charismatic and charming. There was much excitement and relief in the Repertory Theatre last night as the film turned out to be not 90 minutes of drawn out confusion (as with CANARY) but instead an intense and enjoyable crowd-pleaser. Although Adams seems to take pride in making very complex, thought provoking films which are not suited for the average film viewer, this time he has turned in a complex, thought provoking film which anyone can enjoy. I am very confident in recommending this film, in fact I whole heartedly urge you to put it on your must-see list.
Tags: Alejandro Adams, Babnik, DRAMA, world premiere.
5Q: ALEJANDRO ADAMS / BABNIK
Posted by CQ Central
ALEJANDRO ADAMS
1Q: Tell us a little about the origins of BABNIK, from writing to financing.
I bite off more than I can chew. It’s pathological. This film was made in a language I don’t speak. It stares down one of the hot-button issues of the day—sex-trafficking. I’m in over my head. I’m drowning. I can’t look at my work from the outside but I imagine it’s quite a spectacle. I don’t remember making this film and can’t imagine why I did. Read more
Tags: 5Q, Alejandro Adams, Babnik, DRAMA, world premiere.
Review: Canary (Jason Wiener)
Posted by Jason Wiener
Originally posted at Jason Watches Movies:
Last Sunday I saw what might be the toughest movie to “get” in Cinequest–Canary. Alejandro Adams makes it clear early on that he’s not going to be making anything clear. For the first 10 minutes you watch a Russian family having a conversation in Russian with no subtitles (I’ve been told it’s a really banal, boring conversation, too). The camera is hidden half behind walls, etc, making you feel a bit like a peeping tom. And in the middle of it all, a mute girl stands watching, hiding (but not very well, it seems like the family just ignores her). She holds a spray can and a small cooler with a heart logo on it. Finally it cuts to one family member lying on the floor (presumably she sprayed him) and she’s smearing blue jello on his abdomen. We learn later soon that she’s an organ redistribution specialist working for the Canary Corporation. But we never see an operation, never a drop of blood. We learn about Canary instead through an advertising bull session where executives are throwing ideas back and forth. The key to their business is the “conscientious use” clause in their contracts. Abuse your organ, and you don’t get to keep it. You can even have a Canary representative certify your baby’s organs at birth, in case they need a transplant later on. Of course, that signs them up for the conscientious use contract, too. This is a world explicated through banal, sometimes bizarre conversations. Canary organ redistribution specialists flirt with the nurses in the hospital. A TV news crew pitches ideas and interviews a crackpot who thinks–for some reason–that Canary might be evil. No, Canary is good. The organs provide life for many people, not just one. And the conscientious use contract is easy to follow if you just eat Canary brand organic foods. There’s satire, there’s allegory, there’s banality and acceptance of horrific realities. Reactions I went through while watching this ranged from ‘genius!’ to ‘what?’ to ‘I think this violates the conscientious use clause for my eyes!’ Not an easy movie to watch, not an easy movie to understand, and not an easy movie to forget.
Oh yeah, and all the “Repo!” fans who will see this movie because of the organ repossession angle and hated it because there’s no blood–ha ha, jokes on you!
Canary plays again Mar 7 at 4 pm at the San Jose Rep.
Go here for the CQ site and buy tickets.
Go here to learn more about Canary Industries.
Trailer: CANARY
Posted by CQ Central
Trailer for Alejandro Adams’s Canary, a CQ19 world premiere.
Canary showtimes at Cinequest 19
Tags: Alejandro Adams, CANARY, CQ19, SCI-FI, TRAILER, world premiere.