Territories (2010)

Five friends return home from a marriage in Canada to the United States. Not far from the border, two customs officers stop them to check their identity.

Director:

Olivier Abbou

Writers:

Olivier Abbou (screenplay), Thibault Lang Willar (screenplay),

Stars:

Cristina Rosato, Michael Mando, Roc LaFortune

Cast

Cast overview:
Cristina Rosato	...	Michelle Harris
Michael Mando	...	Jalii Adel Kahlid
Roc LaFortune	...	Samuel Torrance
Sean Devine	...	Walter Sotos
Nicole Leroux	...	Leslie Goldberg
Alex Weiner	...	Tom Goldberg
Stephen Shellen	...	Rick Brautigan
Tim Rozon	...	Gabriel Delgado
Vlasta Vrana	...	Sherif White
Caroline Redekopp	...	Doris
Nicola Woloz	...	Rebecca Brautigan
Lena Kleine	...	Rebecca's Mother

Storyline

Five friends returning from a marriage in Canada return home to the United States. Not far from the border, two customs officers stop them to check their identity. Suspicious, they take their time especially with Jalil, a man of Arab origin. The situation worsens when a customs officer finds a small bag of marijuana in the luggage. Then things degenerate rapidly: a customs officer grabs the little dog that's part of the group and slits open its belly to be sure it's not a mule. When Gab makes a move, he's shot. The customs officer orders the surviving friends to undress and put on orange coveralls. Gradually, it dawns on the four tourists that they are in the hands of former torturers from Guantanamo.

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Plot Keywords:

customs officer | guantanamo | impersonation | female rear nudity | cavity search | 

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [fr]

Country:

France Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 2010 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Territoires

Filming Locations:

Montréal, Québec, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

CAD 3,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Capture The Flag Films, Films Esplanade, Les, Films du Territoire, Les

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

User Reviews

Not all films have to have clear plots ...

Oddly enough, the bad reviews on this site were what enticed me to actually watch the film. Besides the first review by Coventry, which had some constructive criticism and actually compared this film with others within its genre, the reviews all took issue with the episodic quality of the films plot. It seems that they haven't been introduced to the concept of art cinema - a mode of film practice which subverts and breaks from classical filmic conventions like continuity editing, and strict causal relations between narrative events, instead focusing on the psychological depth of its characters and the "everyday" realism of disjointed, unrelated events. This film definitely shows various qualities of the art cinema, especially its episodic structure and focus on character psychology. I found the plot intriguing and despite what some of the other reviewers said, I think that the introduction of the private detective was not arbitrary but actually contributed to the creation of the expectation that the tortured would be rescued. By building this character who can sympathize with the families of the missing, as he has ostensibly lost his own daughter, the director effectively takes the audience out of the roll of victim-by-proxy and into rescuer-by-proxy. This is clever because by the time this plot line is introduced, the viewer has become frustrated with the course of events (as trapped in them as the tortured) and the detective becomes the voice for the audience, while also giving them a view onto the other side of the tragedy of kidnapping/forcible confinement.

As for the ending ... I cannot believe that one of the previous reviewers complained about the fact that the ending did not gesture to a sequel. I'm sorry bud, but sequels did not exist before the late 80s early 90s and the dawn of the multiplex theater. I also disagree with the suggestion that the film doesn't allow the audience to interpret the final events in any way that they wish - because that is exactly what the ambiguous ending does. The lack of closure makes it the viewers responsibility to interpret the ending in whatever way that they can.

Overall, the film was esthetically pleasing and definitely generated the reactions thrillers are supposed to. Maybe for Coventry the film is just another in a long line of psychopath/kidnapping/torture stories, but I have seen few which are as dedicated to the art of film and not very tangibly grasping at demographics in hopes of being successful. Also I would say that Territories fell well within the range of the independent film mode, and far from that of the B-film - despite its low budget and virtually unknown cast. Definitely a film worth watching

• at least for those who can appreciate films which reveal their

artifice by making the viewer think.