By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Anaïs Granofsky
Starring: Ingrid Veninger | Jackie Burroughs | Peter Stebbings
Original language title: The Limb Salesman
Country: canada
Year: 2004
Running time: 80
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424238/combined
Bruce says: “The time is the distant future. Just how far we aren’t sure but one business boasts its existence ‘since 2032.’ Hints are dropped from time to time. ‘The birds are returning to the Pacific.’ Water is undrinkable unless it is mined. Mutants are common. Sounds like a post-nuclear age to me.
“A mining baron in the remote North Country, somewhere around the 56th parallel in a place called Rockwood, has summoned a doctor to evaluate his daughter Clara (Ingrid Veninger). Clara is one of the mutants, born with no legs. Dr, Gabriel Goode (Peter Stebbings) is greeted by two male maids decked out in robes with matching sashes. When interviewed by the doctor, the baron refers to ‘having my daughter fixed.’ As the doctor carefully measures her lower extremities, he explains the measurements must be exact or hairline fractures will develop. After taking a blood sample for matching her DNA the doctor declares that we will ‘grow you a new pair of legs.’ The matriarch of the estate (Jackie Burroughs) is the only person at dinner that evening. When she sees the doctor, she is quite taken and exclaims flirtatiously ‘Oh my stars.’ ‘You’re the first company in a dog’s age.’ At night the doctor carefully measures liquid from a bottle, some sort of medicine he needs for a defective heart. The baron’s son begins quarreling with his father over the deaths at the mines, men sacrificing lives to obtain small amounts of water.
“The doctor goes back to the city which seems rather deserted and decaying. He goes to a murky apartment where a sleazy scientist grows body parts in ‘fish tanks.’ He soon returns to the North Country with a box of legs which he surgically applies to Clara. The procedure is a success and soon she is walking. When the bandages are removed her legs are unwrapped like Christmas presents. Her father stokes the new appendages lasciviously.
“THE LIMB SALESMAN was originally discussed at a possible film in November 2003. Anaïs Granofsky and Ingrid Veninger wrote the entire screenplay in December; filmed exteriors over 13 days in January and February of this year; filmed the interiors in 5 days in May; edited the film and had a finished product by August. A lot was probably sacrificed with such a short time frame and a small budget. The acting is uneven and the characters not well developed enough. Still, all things considered, it is an admirable effort. Granofsky is a promising talent. Peter Stebbings has a vulnerable air about him, the type that brings out maternal and paternal instincts. Ingrid Veninger has an intriguing presence. Hopefully they both will have more fully defined roles in the future.
“The film is very stylized. Some scenes were reminiscent of THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER; other scenes looked like Vermeers, soft ochres and creams with Clara reflected in the mirror, her albino dreadlocks piled high on her head in classic fashion. Chopin’s Ballad in G Minor adds to the moodiness of the film. In ways THE LIMB SALESMAN is a cautionary tale. When Clara suspects that the doctor, like herself, is not a complete person she suggests a heart transplant. He explains to her that you can’t grow a heart in a petri dish. Why not? It has something to do with the soul. He also explains that correcting mutant DNA could jeopardize the whole human race. Now that’s something else to worry about. 3 cats
“This film was shown at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival”
Michael says: “Despite the intriguing premise and inventive execution, THE LIMB SALESMAN fails to deliver and ultimately collapses into schlocky romance. Set in the far future, where water is the most precious commodity in a toxic world, Anais Granofsky’s THE LIMB SALESMAN attempts to combine science fiction with tragic romance in a low-budget, character-driven tale. The world’s water supplies have become so contaminated that genetic mutations causing physical deformities have begun to emerge in the population. A wealthy industrialist living in a mansion in the frozen wastelands arranges for a doctor who specializes in limb replacement to tend to his adopted daughter whose mutation has left her without legs. The doctor suffers from hallucinatory dreams caused by his heart medication, while the industrialist mistreats his workers (despite his son’s objections) and seems to harbor an unnatural affection for his daughter. Meanwhile, his mother, a former socialite played with daft aplomb by Jackie Burroughs, keeps an eye on everything from behind her aging eccentricities. The lush, antique interiors, barren landscapes, and inventive props make for a visually adept film, but the lackluster screenplay, awkward performances, and melodramatic ending tear it all down. 2 cats”