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‘Black Rainbow’ vs. ‘Melancholia’
Fantastic Fest can be a hit-or-miss event, with a wide range of movies of drastically varying qualities.
Sometimes, you get to see a high-art movie like Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia.” And sometimes you end up watching “Beyond the Black Rainbow,” which ends up seeming silly, despite its obvious artistic pretensions.
Director Panos Cosmatos, who introduced his film Saturday night at the Alamo South, said that he had just left a screening of “Melancholia” and was still “processing” what it all meant. But his mention of “Melancholia” only highlighted the failings of “Beyond the Black Rainbow.”
To be fair, Von Trier, albeit a bit wacky on a personal level, is a respected European auteur. Cosmatos, who says he has a background in videos, is making his feature film debut with “Beyond the Black Rainbow.” And the differences in budget — and experience — are apparent.
“Melancholia” is filled with beautiful, surrealistic imagery, while Cosmatos relies on such cheesy visual effects as red screens to indicate emotional high points. The soundtrack also screams “important” moments. And if that weren’t enough, we get extra sound effects, with frequent synthesized bwaaahhh, bwaaahhhs. It’s almost like watching a bad sci-fi B movie from the 1950s or 60s. And then there’s the set design, which consists of stark rooms and an odd pyramid that seems to ooze telekinitc energy. Bwaaahhh, bwaaahhh, again.
The plot is almost nonexistent. But it consists of a young, silent woman (Eva Allan, as Elana) who apparently is being observed, for psychiatric reasons, by a sinister doctor (Michael Rogers, as Barry). He talks. She listens. Sometimes she vibrates. And it looks like she might be able to make things explode. Naturally, she wants to get out of the sterile environment. And that’s about it, except for a few silly scenes involving a smoking nurse and an old man who wants a shot between his toes.
Some critics have tried to aestheticize such banalities and make “Beyond the Black Rainbow” seem to be more than it really is. Remarkably, Magnet Releasing, a division of Magnolia Pictures, has even picked the movie up for distribution. And it has played several festivals, including Tribeca in New York and Fantasia in Montreal. So it’s clear that this movie will draw a wide variety of responses.
Look for it soon at an arthouse theater near you. Or not.
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