Ana Stelline in "Blade Runner 2049" (2017). Juri finally reached a bigger American market with her role as Dr. Neither of those films had an impact in America, with both being international projects despite the actors involved. She appeared in the Craig Robinson-starring comedy "Morris from America" (2016) and the Dakota Fanning and Guy Pearce-starring western "Brimstone" (2017). After the success of "Wetlands," Juri began to make an attempt to transition to American cinema. Her true breakout role was the leading role of Helen in the German drama "Wetlands" (2013), which was based on a best-selling novel. Over the next few years, Juri appeared in a variety of Swiss and later German films. Her first credited role was in the short "Midday Room" (2006), but what started to earn her acclaim was her part in "180°" (2010), which garnered Swiss award buzz. She spent time in Los Angeles and London, working on short films and more along the way. Starting in 2005, Juri began to study acting over the course of five years across two continents. Unfortunately it’s still not enough to inject blood with the life it needs.Born and raised in the town of Ambri in Switzerland, Carla Juri didn't discover acting until her 20s. As the trio form a makeshift family, Chloe’s inner life, her conflicting desires, her reluctance to move forward feel more sharply rendered. Gray’s thematic interests - what it means to relate to others, how grief can help and hinder in forging new connections - become clearer in scenes between Chloe, Toshi and Toshi’s daughter. But too often the scenes feel like flashpoints in a bigger story we only partially access. In moments like these, when the narrative offers more than a passing interest in Toshi, we come to understand why his interactions with Chloe can feel so stilted: He is falling in love with his close friend’s wife, and that’s unnerving.īlood unfurls at a steady, unhurried pace, which, at times, makes it easier to appreciate some of the small moments and feelings on which the film meditates.
When the young woman asks if he and Chloe are dating, Toshi mournfully dismisses the idea. “Chloe will like something like this, probably,” he wonders out loud in front of his date. The story prompts him to muse about Chloe and her life’s work. While he’s on a date with another woman, a chef explains to Toshi the process by which the restaurant prepares crabs. Tender interactions like these illuminate Chloe’s emotional state, giving viewers more to latch on to than her longing stares and anxious lip biting. But the key, he goes on to say, is to surround yourself with others, from whom you can learn new things and then see yourself and the world differently. Yatsuro affirms her perspective: “Human beings always think too much,” he says to her. The product of a broken home, Helen's teen rebellion is. They are discussing her photographs, but, it seems, the conversation extends to her life as well. Wetlands follows the rocky and, at times, repulsive journey of 18-year-old Helen Memel (the fearless, funny and flawless Carla Juri). She wonders if she is doing the right thing and about her inclination to overthink. One particularly poignant moment occurs while Chloe is traveling with her boss, Yatsuro (Issey Ogata). Occasionally, Gray gestures at bits of character development, but they are few and far between. Who is Chloe and where does she come from? Why go to Japan? How long has her husband been dead? Why does photography interest her? Who is Toshi outside of his burgeoning romance with Chloe? What are his desires? The characters remain frustratingly opaque. Yet the narrative’s inertia eventually stiffens these interactions, making them increasingly harder to indulge.
Gray does an assured job capturing the languorousness of cross-cultural communication while mostly avoiding the pitfalls of condescension. Her communication with Toshi and his grandmother, neither of whom is proficient in English, comes off in fits and spurts. Chloe understands some Japanese but doesn’t speak it well. The awkwardness of their early interactions make up the beginnings of blood, which relishes the minute details of people getting to know one another.
They are on their way to see Toshi’s grandmother (Sachiko Ohshima), an energetic old woman who tends an enviously lush garden. In the next moment, we see Chloe and Toshi driving along a verdant highway. An arresting opening sequence creates an inviting welcome to the film’s world: two trains chugging across bridges, river water glistening and the sun’s orange glow bathing the skyline. Gray and DP Eric Lin render Tokyo sensitively, the city and nearby countryside enlivened by the film’s soft focus. There’s a lot to marvel at in blood, especially when it comes to aesthetics. 'Talk to Me' Review: Mingling With the Spirit World Brings Bone-Chilling Shocks in Australian Horror Debut
0 kommentar(er)
