Critic Review
The Clearing
By Ann-Marie Stillion
Fourth Annual Sedona International Film Festival
A review originally published in FlagLIVE!
Kat Smith's "The Clearing" begins in a brightly lit forest. The cicadas are buzzing and the light is long and slant. What follows is an encounter that changes three people's lives. It tells the story of two desperate individuals, one running and one who wants to run.
Seen from the point of view of the hunted, the film which Smith directs with a sense of quiet presence, pulls us into the interior spaces of two strangers whose gesture and intellect is traced by two thoughtful actors, Titus Welliver (Harley) and Laurel Holloman (Linette).
The writer/director draws out their characters with the steadiness of a storyteller on a summer's evening. We think of Flannery O'Conner. She allows us to consider the moral dilemma of people who by definition are on the outside and still, strangely, their challenges become our own. "The Clearing" is Smith's film debut as a director. It suggests that future films from her efforts may continue deepening our view of the human heart and it's longings.
Reflecting on the five-year span involved in bringing the film to fruition, Smith remarks, "I think I understand the film more today than I did when I wrote it five years ago. It used to be about abandonment and the temptation of escape. But now it's about two people who learn that in order to pass through the difficulties life hands you, you have to start from where you are ..."
By Ann-Marie Stillion
Fourth Annual Sedona International Film Festival
A review originally published in FlagLIVE!
Kat Smith's "The Clearing" begins in a brightly lit forest. The cicadas are buzzing and the light is long and slant. What follows is an encounter that changes three people's lives. It tells the story of two desperate individuals, one running and one who wants to run.
Seen from the point of view of the hunted, the film which Smith directs with a sense of quiet presence, pulls us into the interior spaces of two strangers whose gesture and intellect is traced by two thoughtful actors, Titus Welliver (Harley) and Laurel Holloman (Linette).
The writer/director draws out their characters with the steadiness of a storyteller on a summer's evening. We think of Flannery O'Conner. She allows us to consider the moral dilemma of people who by definition are on the outside and still, strangely, their challenges become our own. "The Clearing" is Smith's film debut as a director. It suggests that future films from her efforts may continue deepening our view of the human heart and it's longings.
Reflecting on the five-year span involved in bringing the film to fruition, Smith remarks, "I think I understand the film more today than I did when I wrote it five years ago. It used to be about abandonment and the temptation of escape. But now it's about two people who learn that in order to pass through the difficulties life hands you, you have to start from where you are ..."
More reviews on imdb.com:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0176614/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt