directed by James Marsh
USA 2005
From the writer of “Monster’s Ball”, “The
King” is a curious blend of Greek tragedy and southern gothic, telling the
story of Elvis (Gael Garcia Bernal) going to Corpus Christi, Texas, in
search of his father (William Hurt), now a pastor and family father.
On the surface, “The King” suggests its motifs quiet openly, thru its title
and the ambiguity of it thru Elvis, the king of rock’n’roll, Christ, the
king of kings, and the nature of the pastor, the king of his castle, which
as the story progresses for my taste is a bit too smart and without enough
substance. The entire Christian motif of sin, here not only the sins of the
father, but sin in general, especially killing and incest, are not real
attached to the narrative. The Christian reading further becomes sidetracked
by the almost isolated subplot of the sons attempt to get biblical creation
theory taught aside Darwinism. It lacks a centre of singular Christian motif
by which to hold all the single elements up against.
To ignore attempts to colour motifs with religion, allows one a far more
enriching viewing of the story. Doing so, the characters become
abstractions, where the pastor has build a kingdom around him based on
purity again based on ignorance, which is invaded by the impurity of his
past, in form of Elvis, who will do anything to be accepted.
What drives “The King” is the dynamic created by the definition of the
characters portrayed by Bernal and Hurt. Bernal is without any moral centre,
acting solely out of his desire to gain acceptance, which gives him a
innocence quality thru which his actions become ambiguous. Hurt is a moral
centre, strong and dogmatic, his actions always based upon his law, then
God’s law. While both are above the law, Elvis being an outsider, the pastor
dictating the law, everyone else float back and forth between the two
extremes of morality, which one can say is human nature.
Poster
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Theatrical Release: May 15, 2005 (Cannes Film Festival)
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Review: Tartan - Region 2 - PAL
Big thanks to Henrik Sylow for the Review!
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| Distribution |
Tartan Region 2 - PAL |
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| Runtime | 1:39:13 (4% PAL speedup) | |
| Video |
2.32:1 Original 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 | No Subtitles | |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: Tartan Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 16 |
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| Comments |
While details and colours are strong, there is a bit
too much contrast and minute compression artefacts, especially edge
enhancements. The sound is your standard three choices Tartan, of which the DTS is the best, as it adds more depth to the sound stage, than the 5.1. The additional material begins with a rather chatty scene-by-scene commentary by director Marsh and producer / writer Addica, which goes from thematic discussion of a scene to rather lose chat. While informative, it lacks zeal and strength. Followed by a brief rehearsal scene and a few deleted scenes, Tartan has added interviews with Marsh and Addica, where they go into more specifics than on the commentary. |
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Tartan Region 2 - PAL |
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Gary Tooze
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Thank You!
