By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Kevin Kopacka
Starring: Anna Platen | Frederik von Lüttichau | Jeff Wilbusch | Luisa Taraz | Robert Nickisch
Country: germany
Year: 2022
Running time: 73
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8518302/reference/
Brett says: “Aesthetically soothing, frightening, trippy, and feverish all in perfect rhythm with whichever atmosphere the scene calls for at the time, one way to introduce the film DAWN BREAKS BEHIND THE EYES is to go ahead and establish that’s it’s an unconventional narrative. The caveat is that first-time viewers will enter the film, observe for a while, and likely feel inclined to disagree. Buckle up.
“On top of it all is award-worthy and unique music selection that highlights the moods with the necessary glue for gripping the audience in any given moment.
“The film opens with a married couple driving through winding roads to a newly acquired estate in the middle of the night. Smooth move. The wife Margot has just inherited a castle from a deceased uncle, as so many of us are familiar with. Always the instigator, her husband Dieter is quick to complain about every little aspect of the trip, the castle itself, the marriage, and anything else he can contrive to fall into the net of negativity. If only something really really bad would happen to him, hmm.
“The lighting, cinematography, and overall atmosphere is a delight. It feels like a film made from another period of cinema. It’s a film that could be classified as gothic horror in part with a color scheme and use of contrasts that will trigger comparisons to giallo horror. Thematically, the film explores class, power dynamics, the anomaly of time, and has hints of a few others.
“Although a blurb about the opening premise of the film might warrant a reader to think that’s all that is needed to see where this is all going, that false sense of self-assuredness is exactly why the film stood out by the end. It all at once hints of many films that seem to have inspired it, yet remains like no other film at all: a statement as enigmatic and paradoxical as the narrative within. 4 cats out of 5
“Recommended for giallo or gothic horror enthusiasts
“Recommended for anyone who relishes in “what just happened” reactions to film
“Not recommended for anyone who likes leaving the theater with clarity (I mean, did you read the title—what does that even mean going into it, right?)”