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1 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Dogma is too Dogmatic for me, 15 Mar 2008
I bought this DVD in all good faith (not knowing the details of the
script) due to the presence in the credits of one of my favourite
actresses, Janet McTeer, who was deservedly nominated for an Oscar
the year before she appeared in this. What a fall from grace, going
from the sublime comedy, 'Tumbleweeds', to 'The King Is Alive', which
plays out like an X-rated version of 'Lord Of The Flies'. I can only
infer that Janet was brought onboard on the back of her Oscar nomination
in order to give this film some credibility and bankability in the first
instance. Yet the final product is still unwatchable. Basically, a group
of (supposed) adults become stranded in a Namibian shanty town, when
the SatNav onboard their bus malfunctions, leading them into the desert,
and away from civilization, before they run out of fuel. And despite
there being food and water to be had in this shanty town, within only a
couple of days of being stranded, the passengers are at each other's
throats, and behaving worse than the children in 'Lord Of The Flies'.
Janet's own character soon ends up demeaning and debasing herself in a
way that no talented, classically trained actress should either feel
compelled or wish to do. But at least she doesn't suffer the fate of
Jennifer Jason-Leigh's character, who is first press-ganged into an
unwanted sexual act, by the groups old lech, and then sequentially
poisoned by a faulty tin of carrots, and then drowned by being forced
to drink his urine. (Yes, it was that gross!)
I have no problem with the idea behind 'Dogma' movies of wanting them
to be innovative about camera angles, lighting and avoiding the use of
special effects. But I simply cannot bring myself to recommend to anyone
else a shoddy script, with completely unbelievable dialogue, which
descends into a poor-man's snuff-movie. There may have been some serious
sociological points lurking within this story, though I have to say, if that's the
case, they were too well hidden for me to see them. If this movie bore
the slightest similarity to the way people actually behave in well-
documented 'survival-situations', then it would be positively frightening.
As it is, it is just a sad and disturbing comment on some elements of
the 'alternative' (ie not mainstream/commercially viable) film-making
establishment. Please do not watch this movie without a strong stomach,
or if you are already on anti-depressants.
N.B. The usual coda applies, that I had to give this movie one star,
as it's physically impossible to give it zero :o(
Mike (a genuine movie-fan)
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