directed
by Todd Solondz
USA 2004
Todd Solondz is one of the few filmmakers of today, for
which cinema may serve a function, but who’s films doesn’t serve cinema. To
say that his films are bad makes as little sense as to say that they are good.
They just are. What Solondz does is offering us something. Whether we like it
or understand it is up to us. Either way, the world seems different after
having watched one of his films, and because of that, Todd Solondz is a
filmmaker who mainly should be experienced.
In “Palindromes”, Solondz offers alternate views on born again Christians,
paedophilia and abortion, telling the story of Aviva, a 12-year old girl who
only wants to become pregnant, as she wants a baby, so she has something to
love. After having gotten pregnant with the son of family friends, her mother
forces her to get an abortion, after which Aviva runs away from home and into
a the real world.
One intriguing element of “Palindromes” is, that Solondz portraits Aviva thru
8 actresses, of different ages, ethnicities and sizes; in one scene she is a 8
year old black girl, in the next, she is a 14 year old white girl with red
hair. In the same way he refuses to offer us any arguments, any stands against
murder, rape, abortion, paedophilia, Solondz refuses us to pin down the
physical appearance of Aviva. She is an abstraction, a figment of his
imagination, just as the story is naked ideas and situations.
A far more complex element is the title itself. Where all his previous films
have had titles which related to the story and theme (Happiness,
Storytelling), one has to question what Palindrome relates to. While the word
most commonly is read as “…a word that reads the same backward or forward”, it
also means recurring, which perhaps makes more sense. By having Aviva being
played by 8 different actresses, by having her being an abstract, one could
argue that “Palindromes” is about coming of age, as what Aviva goes thru is
recurs to every girl, and the events are merely a variety of situations. It
could also lead back to the situations presented, the abortion, the paedophile
and so forth, all are situations which always has been and always will be
discussed. It is also possible to read the title in relation to Solondz as a
filmmaker, as he begins the film with the funeral of Dawn, his protagonist
from “Welcome to the Dollhouse”, and while we hear Dawn play on the piano, we
see the title “Palindrome”, and a few moments later Aviva fears to become as
Dawn.
Regardless of which, if any, “Palindromes” is another completely original
fable about American life by one of cinemas most unique visionaries.
Poster
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Theatrical Release: September 3, 2004 (Telluride Film Festival)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Tartan - Region 0 - PAL
Big thanks to Henrik Sylow for the Review!
| DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from:
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| Distribution |
Tartan Region 0 - PAL |
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| Runtime | 1:36:01 (4% PAL speedup) | |
| Video |
1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Audio | 2.0 Dolby Digital English, 5.1 Dolby Digital English, DTS English | |
| Subtitles | English (HoH), None | |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Tartan Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 16 |
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| Comments |
In
accordance with the specific wishes of director Todd Solondz, no extras
are included. This is basically a DVD5. The film including 2.0 Dolby Digital and 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtracks fit on a DVD5, only because of its DTS track, the storage takes up 5.6 GB. And it shows. Colors appear oversaturated and colors blend. Look at Image #6 and watch how the red bleeds into the green grass. Of compression artifacts, the most visible are color banding and macro blocking. While Tartan suggests that the absence of extras allows maximizing the quality of sound and vision, vision clearly has suffered from being overcompressed. The aspect ration has also been altered from its OAR of 1.85:1 to 1.78:1, but whether it has been opened or cropped, a comparison with the R1 DVD should tell. Sound is on the other hand superb. Again, this is not a film that will benefit from surround, but all three tracks are very well mixed. |
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Screen Captures
subtitle sample (English only)
Captures resized to 800px from 1016px
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| DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from:
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| Distribution |
Tartan Region 0 - PAL |
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!
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