By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.25
Director: Jack Lewis | John Greyson
Starring: Kerry Norton | Kristen Thomson | Neil Sandilands | Rouxnet Brown | Shaun Smyth | Tessa Jubber
Country: canada, south_africa
Year: 2004
Running time: 97
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379461/combined
Bruce says: “‘Tis a pity that John Greyson is not a stage director for his sensibilities are much better suited for live drama than for the screen. I would love to see him stage a major production for the ailing theater in this country, a spot where his talents could be easily appreciated. While not vaguely a fan of his earlier LILLIES, I admire many of his efforts in PROTEUS although it would be a stretch to call the film a success. Based upon the documentation of a 1735 trial, the film fictionalizes the circumstances surrounding the sodomy conviction of Claas Blank (Rouxnet Brown), a Hottentot, and Rijkhaart Jacobz (Neil Sandilands), a young Dutch sailor and their sentence to death by drowning. In 18th Century South Africa, not only was homosexuality an intolerable crime, Claas Blank was an anomaly – an educated, lower class black man.
“Both of the young men were convicts sentenced to hard labor. Dutch botanists – researching new species and, in particular, classifying the many types of proteus, a succulent, flowering plant growing along the seashore – use the convicts to do heavy labor required for their project. When Claas and Rijkhaart are assigned to fetch large barrels of water they begin having rough sexual encounters in an enclosed area of the water tower while the water is siphoned into the barrels. Their sexual relationship continues for six or seven years.
“One of the prominent botanists, Virgil Niven (Shaun Smyth) enlists Claas to help identify plants. Niven is a married gay man who lusts after Claas and attempts to take him back to the Netherlands as his servant. Many flashbacks to Niven’s clandestine affairs under the Amsterdam docks tell us that while homosexuality may have been practiced in Europe in the 18th Century it was not tolerated on that continent, either.
“The cinematography is quite beautiful. The film opens and closes with way too many slow motion shots of flowers opening and closing. This repetition lessens the filmmakers point. Then there is the problem of attire and technology. The opening courtroom scene has three court reporters, all in a row, typing the transcript of the trial. They look like something taken from a sixties magazine – Monica Vitti, Martha Mitchell and Suzanne Pleshette. The wife of one of the Dutch officers in charge of the convicts occasionally appears as Jackie Kennedy look alike in a Couregges suit and in a black cocktail sheath. Likewise, the officer who sadistically whips the convicts is dressed as an SS patrolman while his peers have long coats and wigs. A transistor radio, a truck and a modern skyline also appear on screen for no particular reason. Such acts of fantasy, making us aware of the moral connections between centuries, are more successful stage techniques. Here they confound the viewer.
“The acting is decent and generally believable in spite of the over dramatizations. Greyson tells stories well but he lacks the ability to bring unity to his disparate ideas. He doesn’t connect his dots well. One of these days he may pull it off. Not here.
“Out of nowhere Sarah Polley appears in the ‘Thank You’ section at the end of the credits. She certainly is ubiquitous. 3 cats”
Michael responds: “I’m trying to catch up with a few of the reviews that have piled up in the past few weeks and get them on the website. Since Bruce posted this review of PROTEUS, I have also seen this film, John Greyson’s sixth feature. I’m a fan of Greyson, so I thought I’d just make a couple of quick comments.
“Bruce says: ‘While not vaguely a fan of his earlier LILLIES, I admire many of his efforts in PROTEUS although it would be a stretch to call the film a success.’ I am a big fan of LILLIES, and even more so of his earlier film ZERO PATIENCE (which Chris, Scot and I watched on a double bill with PROTEUS). While I found PROTEUS to be less successful than either of those earlier films, it was certainly intriguing.
“Bruce also mentioned the anachronisms in some of the fashions and technology that pop up periodically in a film set in 1735. I quite enjoyed this device underlying how the issues dealt with in PROTEUS are issues still being dealt with today. The typing pool in the courtroom was a particular favorite of mine.
“As for Greyson pulling his stories together, I agree that PROTEUS was a little less successful in this regard. I would argue that he is much more successful with LILLIES and especially ZERO PATIENCE, where he pulls together many disparate storylines and themes wonderfully. Greyson is clearly fascinated with history, science, and gay issues. These themes constantly pop up in all of his films.
“As for the inexplicable ‘thank you’ given to the talented Ms. Polley, she did star in his film THE LAW OF ENCLOSURES, released a couple of years before PROTEUS. I ordered a VHS copy of ENCLOSURES and I’m very intrigued. It’s based on the novel by Dale Peck, which strays quite far from Greyson’s usual themes.
“I think the most startling thing about PROTEUS was the choice of filming, quite unabashedly, with video. It was a curious choice and I wonder why it was made. 3 1/2 cats”