Sofia Mikheeva
ENG 220: Film Criticism
Spring 2016
Dr. Sean Homer
Film Review
3/31/2016
Painless (Insensibles) 2012
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Production companies: Les Films d’Antoine, Tobina Film, Fado Filmes
Running time: 100 minutes
Country: Spain, France, Portugal
Release dates: September 8, 2012
Director Juan Carlos Medina’s debut fantastic horror movie combines two narratives - a contemporary thriller plot with flashbacks to the Spanish Civil War and running through to the 60’s. Intriguing script and the way the story unravels leave no chances to predict what will happen next on the screen.
The opening sequence starts with a flashback to rural Catalonia in 1930s featuring a small girl Ines (Bruna Montoto and Liah O’Prey) playing …show more content…
The combination of great story and good cinematography intrigues and casts a spell. The plot unravels in a brilliant way, it rarely seems to be predictable and is usually captivating. The movie deals with exploration of several interesting themes such as nature vs nurture; the idea of what it means to be evil, which is embodied in the character of Berkano. Painless also gives a philosophical perspective on the topics of pain and the power of the evil. It is not new for European horror genre to show the gore, suffering and the atrocity of the war through the eyes of children, but Medina’s technique in dishing these out is astonishing as he is playing with the audience’s sensibilities throughout whole movie. Slow exposition of dark and bloody narrative preceding the play off takes the viewer into the darkest places of the human soul. Although, Painless is beautifully filmed, it is rather unbalanced. It is primarily the combination of two narratives which does not perfectly work because they are visually and contextually distinct from one another. The flashbacks with their dark fantasy gothicism established from the opening scene is far more enthralling than the modern sections of the plot. Children acting is splendid and particularly the hospital scenes are consider to be the best part of the narrative. Makeup, detailed film settings, and sepia-toned compositions of historical scenes contribute to the spirit of a gothic fantasy and grim historical reality of Spain. Current days storyline falls more on stereotypical horror genre conventions and filmed in cold colors and minimalistic settings. David’s story lacks of empathy and character development seems unfulfilled, thus provoke an irresistible wish to return to flashback sections as soon as possible. The ending also leaves a lot to be desired but it does not ruin the entire experience of the
ENG 220: Film Criticism
Spring 2016
Dr. Sean Homer
Film Review
3/31/2016
Painless (Insensibles) 2012
Director: Juan Carlos Medina
Production companies: Les Films d’Antoine, Tobina Film, Fado Filmes
Running time: 100 minutes
Country: Spain, France, Portugal
Release dates: September 8, 2012
Director Juan Carlos Medina’s debut fantastic horror movie combines two narratives - a contemporary thriller plot with flashbacks to the Spanish Civil War and running through to the 60’s. Intriguing script and the way the story unravels leave no chances to predict what will happen next on the screen.
The opening sequence starts with a flashback to rural Catalonia in 1930s featuring a small girl Ines (Bruna Montoto and Liah O’Prey) playing …show more content…
The combination of great story and good cinematography intrigues and casts a spell. The plot unravels in a brilliant way, it rarely seems to be predictable and is usually captivating. The movie deals with exploration of several interesting themes such as nature vs nurture; the idea of what it means to be evil, which is embodied in the character of Berkano. Painless also gives a philosophical perspective on the topics of pain and the power of the evil. It is not new for European horror genre to show the gore, suffering and the atrocity of the war through the eyes of children, but Medina’s technique in dishing these out is astonishing as he is playing with the audience’s sensibilities throughout whole movie. Slow exposition of dark and bloody narrative preceding the play off takes the viewer into the darkest places of the human soul. Although, Painless is beautifully filmed, it is rather unbalanced. It is primarily the combination of two narratives which does not perfectly work because they are visually and contextually distinct from one another. The flashbacks with their dark fantasy gothicism established from the opening scene is far more enthralling than the modern sections of the plot. Children acting is splendid and particularly the hospital scenes are consider to be the best part of the narrative. Makeup, detailed film settings, and sepia-toned compositions of historical scenes contribute to the spirit of a gothic fantasy and grim historical reality of Spain. Current days storyline falls more on stereotypical horror genre conventions and filmed in cold colors and minimalistic settings. David’s story lacks of empathy and character development seems unfulfilled, thus provoke an irresistible wish to return to flashback sections as soon as possible. The ending also leaves a lot to be desired but it does not ruin the entire experience of the