Vinyan: The Most Beautifully Devastating Film I Have Seen Since ‘Antichrist’

As many of my REMLins know, I have spent a great deal of time and spiritual energy trying to find and watch the 100 most disturbing movies ever made. This is not an easy undertaking and definitely ends up doing something to the soul. But the reality is, my own life has been very dark at times, and gazing into the abyss now and again makes me realize how lucky I am to now be standing much further away from it than I used to. That being said, there was one movie I was never quite able to find, though I had heard spoken of in hushed tones. Vinyan. Only read about the film twice, but one of the people who talked about it spoke about the film like it cursed him. How, by the time the movie ended, he kinda had the urge to stick a gun in his mouth. The only film I had ever really had that feeling with was a movie called a Serbian Film (which I talk about extensively here). So of course, like an asshole, I took this Vinyan movie as a challenge of sorts. Oh, it cannot be as twisted as Serbian Film. Well, it many ways it wasn’t, but it was about a thousand times more profound and definitely left me feeling somewhat broken after its unforgettable and haunting ending. Should you watch Vinyan? Well, do you like beautiful things that crawl inside you and eat away at your soul? If so, yes. If no, well, read on. Actually, read on regardless. We need to talk about this movie.

Directed by Belgium born Fabrice Du Welz (who made Calvaire, which also fucked me all up and made a huge impression on me) Vinyan is a movie about tragedy and coping with loss, but it is also a movie about how dangerous hope can be. It was Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk who said “Hope is something really tough and tenacious you have to give up. It’s an addiction to break.” in his book Damned, and this movie is a testimony to that. How sometimes a single strand of hope can actually drive us to the darkest place imaginable. Keep in mind, like I always do, I will do my best to keep my synopsis of this movie vague. To those new to this party, I am not a spoiler guy. For now, have a trailer so the rest of what I will say will make some sense to you:

Jeanna and Paul are a couple who are in Thailand planning on funding an orphanage, when they happen across some footage of some kidnapped children in Burma. Much to the mother’s surprise, she is convinced that one of the young boys in the video is their missing (and thought to be dead) son, who was lost in a freak ocean accident six months earlier. While the father shows some doubt (as the boy is facing backwards in the video, though does share some glaring similarities), his wife’s conviction is so determined, they decide to undertake a voyage out to the area in the video to see if they can find and retrieve their son. From that premise alone you know this film will deal with heavy issues, and wont be an easy ride. But the first thing that pulls you in about this movie is how achingly beautiful every single shot in the movie is. Seriously, gaze upon a few of these random screen caps as proof:

I would go so far as to say the cinematography in this film is up there with Apocalypse Now and Antichrist for just how visually staggering each shot is. It also doesn’t hurt that Jeanne is played by Emmanuelle Beart, who is easily one of the most breathtakingly beautiful women to ever walk this earth. For anyone who thinks I may be overselling the visuals a bit, I now offer you just two minutes that stand as proof:

Hard to argue with that. But I am not here to sell you on visuals. Though they are lush and heavy with atmosphere (the movie is so visually humid, you feel the urge to reach up and wipe your own brow from to time), I am here to tell you about the voyage two broken people take to try to find their son, and the deep, emotional impact that voyage had on me. Let it be known, this is not a horror film, and yet it is. It is horror in the sense that some awful things happen across the course of this movie, and the subject matter is very heavy. But in the same breath, this film is a drama and an examination on the toll loss can take on a couple. I compared this film to Lar Von Trier’s Antichrist in the title for a very specific reason. They are the same movie, though told differently. Honestly, pretty much exact same film. The beauty is, they came out in the same year (give or take a few months) so in no way was one a copycat of the other. They were just two traumatizing films that show us a couple downward spiraling due to the loss of a child. Please note the similarity in visual aesthetic as well. Two of the most beautiful films I have ever seen are also two of the most devastating. Funny how art works sometimes. How art can make the ugly beautiful, and the beautiful ugly.

In both cases we have a man and woman, coping with loss and trying to move ahead of it (or at least figure it out). In both films you see nature play a huge part in the story itself. In both films you see the toll this takes on both genders and how that loss is received and treated differently by each parent. You see the true toll that takes on the relationships itself, and you see the absolutely chilling final consequences of those losses. It’s funny, I watched both films in awe at how something so ugly could be so beautiful on-screen. Such an insane juxtaposition to be inside. But in both cases, these films had a very profound effect on me. I believe they will on some of you as well, which is why I share this suffering. Wow, that sounded so emo. I should grow bangs over my eyes and dye them black, but I digress.

The real difference between Vinyan and Antichrist is, with Antichrist, I saw IT coming. It being the final blow the movie would have on my soul. I knew of Lars Von Trier’s work. I knew just from name alone the film would go to the darkest places the human mind could fathom. But for some reason, Vinyan lulled me in to a safer feeling, so when that was stripped away by the end, it was even more jarring. The closing shot in Vinyan might just be one of the most haunting and unforgettable endings to a movie I have ever seen, and I am a guy obsessed with powerful film endings. Anyone who knows the movies I have seen knows how big that statement is. The end of Vinyan was like a parasitic worm working its way inside of me, and me not knowing it was there until it unleashed some kind of toxin that I know I will never be able to shake as long as I live. Yes, I can understand why that other viewer ended this movie with the urge to walk off a cliff. It is darkness and loss and sadness epitomized. It is, and this is so apropos, the heart of darkness. I will warn those of you intrigued, take the ride, but be aware just like the couple in the film, things will NEVER be the same after.