Absurdistan (2008/First Run DVD)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C+
Despite all of its praise, I was no fan of Director Veit
Helmer’s Tuvalu (reviewed elsewhere
on this site) so it was no surprise he would stay in the world of fantasy and
the surreal in Absurdistan (2008)
which means a land or state of absurdity.
It is also the name of the town where the events of this film take place
as a young man named Temelko, who has to lead the charge to get water to flow
there again or the women will stick to their no sex pledge they made when the
drought began.
He wants to marry the beautiful Aya, but she too is part
of the pledge and this leads to some humorous and amusing moments. This is a bit of a better film than Tuvalu,
but the interesting moments about sexuality and fantasy are overrun by
everything we have seen before from the obvious humor to a film that does not
know where to go. It is worth seeing for
its good moments, but not much afterwards.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image can be a little
soft throughout despite some good color and production design. The visuals help the film (for a change) but
cannot save it. The Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo may have been a 5.1 Dolby theatrical mix, but we only get faint
surrounds here. Extras include trailer
gallery for other First Run releases, text director biography, behind the
scenes stills and an interview with Director Helmer.
- Nicholas Sheffo
