Meant to provoke reflection on the meaning of freedom, this film is well photographed (if a little too dark), but comes across as a Polish take on mysogyny. When the son does an about face on his rebellion against his father, I lost my suspension of disbelief. The boy seemed to turn to tyranny just for the thrill of being in charge.
There are a lot of problematic practical details (Where did they get the inexhaustible supply of candles? What did they eat? How did they keep the gasoline dry in that climate? How could there be giant elk and wolves on this tiny island?)
In the end, it did provoke some thought about the nature of freedom - and I thought the performance by Roma Gasiorowska was outstanding. But the male characters are not attractive people.
There are a lot of problematic practical details (Where did they get the inexhaustible supply of candles? What did they eat? How did they keep the gasoline dry in that climate? How could there be giant elk and wolves on this tiny island?)
In the end, it did provoke some thought about the nature of freedom - and I thought the performance by Roma Gasiorowska was outstanding. But the male characters are not attractive people.
