...with one big problem: To fully appreciate it, you have to watch it twice. Yet you probably don't want to, since it is terribly slow and you're frustrated by the confusing editing.
The turning point is the first blood which the audience can't know of until the end. And without knowing it, the character development only seems odd and inexplicable. Not to mention the rage of our angry tree or the red wool... But If you know what happened, things are quite different.
Especially between husband and wife. The boy's mother, in denial, passes the guilt to her husband. He, on the other other hand, can't deal with that pressure. Alone, without the attention or love of his wife and also loosing the counsel of the grandfather, he builds up enormous rage. They're both caught in a vicious cycle of guilt, anger and violence finally resulting in them killing each other (more or less).
Another interesting aspect of the movie is the demise of the patriarch of the house. His pain lies in loosing control. First he struggles with the somewhat strange kid, then his son and daughter-in-law kill his grandchild and finally the girl next door robs the secret grave (the wooden necklace). Without the supernatural ant-part, this could have been very good. I would have killed him off with a stroke or something like that.
Fortunally, supernatural scenes are quite rare in this movie. Most of the time they appear in dreams anyway. What's left are the angry ants and a moving branch.
The movie's end somehow caught me. The last scene with its disturbing beauty and tranquility and the absolutely awesome credits. So I gave it a second chance before completely dismissing it as a waste of money. You should too. Its the age of DVD - jump to some scenes and re-watch them, you might come to like them too.
The turning point is the first blood which the audience can't know of until the end. And without knowing it, the character development only seems odd and inexplicable. Not to mention the rage of our angry tree or the red wool... But If you know what happened, things are quite different.
Especially between husband and wife. The boy's mother, in denial, passes the guilt to her husband. He, on the other other hand, can't deal with that pressure. Alone, without the attention or love of his wife and also loosing the counsel of the grandfather, he builds up enormous rage. They're both caught in a vicious cycle of guilt, anger and violence finally resulting in them killing each other (more or less).
Another interesting aspect of the movie is the demise of the patriarch of the house. His pain lies in loosing control. First he struggles with the somewhat strange kid, then his son and daughter-in-law kill his grandchild and finally the girl next door robs the secret grave (the wooden necklace). Without the supernatural ant-part, this could have been very good. I would have killed him off with a stroke or something like that.
Fortunally, supernatural scenes are quite rare in this movie. Most of the time they appear in dreams anyway. What's left are the angry ants and a moving branch.
The movie's end somehow caught me. The last scene with its disturbing beauty and tranquility and the absolutely awesome credits. So I gave it a second chance before completely dismissing it as a waste of money. You should too. Its the age of DVD - jump to some scenes and re-watch them, you might come to like them too.