Great Film and Product Quality
Added 10/3/2009
This film isn`t for everyone..I first saw this movie on the Independant Fim Channel+really liked it. Charlotte Gainsbourg was great in this film along with the rest of the cast . The location used for filming, The Abandoned Beckton Gas Works gives an added touch to this already different film. I bought a used copy from Amoeba San Francisco, i wont hesitate to deal with Amoeba again .For a used DVD the condition was as good as new.Plus delivery was super fast! Thanks Amoeba great service i`m totally satisfied,I give you six stars!!!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Exquisitely well done
Added 3/17/2008
The steadily unabashed, unapologetic tone of this masterpiece makes for compelling viewing. Aside from the tenderly erotic sequences by which it carries off its unrelenting critique of the real world 'out there', with all its double standards and hypocrisies, the spell is woven with depth and panache. The difficulty for the viewer lies in assigning its unrelenting sensuality to mere incest; Andrew Birkin's interpretation of Ian McEwan is superb and very much to the point.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Hollywood wouldn't dare
Added 3/10/2008
Adolescent children conceal the death of their parents from authorities. Finely acted and directed film with view of events through children's mores and attitudes. However, incest subplot may make the film unsuitable for some viewers. Viewers may also enjoy "Nobody Knows" (2004) and "Our Mother's House" (1967).
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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AWESOME!
Added 10/30/2007
Awesome movie! Give it 6 stars! If you appreciate this genre, this movie is a must have!
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Aspiring production designers and location scouts should take note of "The Cement Garden" (1993) as an example of especially good use of an available on-the-cheap location. Like the equally low-budget "Carnival of Souls", the film owes much of its effectiveness to the creative use of an available location. "The Cement Garden's" outdoor shots should look familiar as Stanley Kubrick used the location back in 1987 for the main battle sequence of "Full Metal Jacket". He used the abandoned Beckton Gasworks just across from the Royal Docks area (Beckton-Silverton London). The area has now been transformed into London City Airport.
As a film, "The Cement Garden" could best be described as pretentious (marked by an unwarranted claim to importance or distinction). It is a movie that tries embarrassingly hard to be more than the sum of its parts. The strategy is to introduce shocking and scandalous elements in such a casual way that it will amp up the effect of breaking taboos far beyond what they would otherwise merit. This too owes much to Kubrick (insert "Lolita" here).
"The Cement Garden" is what you would get if Gregg Araki remade "Our Mother's House" on a shoestring budget; although it is safe to say Araki would have done a much better job of acting for the camera direction. It is an adaptation of Ian McEwan's controversial novel, but as the adapting was done by Director Andrew Birkin (later to be blamed for "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc" script), the result is likely to be disappointing to readers of McEwan's book.
I can't actually recommend the film although some viewers will enjoy and/or be shocked by it. It somehow manages to be both melodramatic and boring; I found viewing possible only in 20 minute segments (not so much because it was painful but because it was not involving enough for me to ignore household interruptions). Since the macabre elements aren't particularly shocking (just a couple of stylish "Blue Velvet" type shots), Birkin must fall back on incest and gender identity. It is one perversion too many and there is no logical connection between the two.
The story is about a family of six (mother, father, two daughters and two sons). The older son is meant to look like a girl, the older daughter is meant to look like a boy, and the younger son wants to be a girl. The mother's death occurs a few weeks after the father, and the children conceal her death in an effort to stay together.
The story is told from the point of view of the oldest boy, who is turned on by his own reflection and by his tease of an older sister. Since he looks so much more feminine than her, his sexual orientation may actually be straight. The younger sister (who is not involved in any of this) looks perfectly normal but spends a lot of time writing letters to her dead mother.
Like "Our Mother's House" (a far better film), an older man is inserted into the story in an effort to make something happen. While a little hard to decipher, the basic themes concern the problems associated with assuming responsibilities before you are emotionally mature enough for them.
In fairness, an attempt is made to insert an allegorical element into the film, as the older boy frequently does a voice-over reading of a science fiction story. This is meant to reflect his internal moral struggles but the connection with the events of the story is rather fuzzy. Not surprising since the weak direction builds neither suspense nor convincing characters. But at least there is that great production design.
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
2 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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Great Film and Product Quality
Added 10/3/2009
This film isn`t for everyone..I first saw this movie on the Independant Fim Channel+really liked it. Charlotte Gainsbourg was great in this film along with the rest of the cast . The location used for filming, The Abandoned Beckton Gas Works gives an added touch to this already different film. I bought a used copy from Amoeba San Francisco, i wont hesitate to deal with Amoeba again .For a used DVD the condition was as good as new.Plus delivery was super fast! Thanks Amoeba great service i`m totally satisfied,I give you six stars!!!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Exquisitely well done
Added 3/17/2008
The steadily unabashed, unapologetic tone of this masterpiece makes for compelling viewing. Aside from the tenderly erotic sequences by which it carries off its unrelenting critique of the real world 'out there', with all its double standards and hypocrisies, the spell is woven with depth and panache. The difficulty for the viewer lies in assigning its unrelenting sensuality to mere incest; Andrew Birkin's interpretation of Ian McEwan is superb and very much to the point.
3 out of 3 people found this helpful.
|
Hollywood wouldn't dare
Added 3/10/2008
Adolescent children conceal the death of their parents from authorities. Finely acted and directed film with view of events through children's mores and attitudes. However, incest subplot may make the film unsuitable for some viewers. Viewers may also enjoy "Nobody Knows" (2004) and "Our Mother's House" (1967).
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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