Tobi, a young adopted woman, is sexually abused by her stepfather. She feels isolated and alone in small seaside town, until one night where she meets a young boy, who is lost and on the run because his entire family is murdered. Tobi and the boy venture to the "Island of the Pirates", in the hopes of escaping from their problems. Any plot synopsis doesn't do Raoul Ruiz's City of Pirates much justice as this is an experience, where plot is secondary to emotion, atmosphere and spirituality. This is one of the most visually intoxicating films I have ever seen. Taking full advantage of a wide variety of color filters and surrealism, this film is a beautiful blend of image & color. It's a macabre type of spiritual journey through a woman's tortured soul, who is tormented by her past mistakes. The film is both dreamlike and nightmarish, perfectly transcending the two to create a sensual tale of civilization, life & death. The film is very uneven and it could have been more focused towards what it exactly it was trying to achieve, but I'm hard pressed to hurt the film for this. In the end I wasn't entirely sure what Ruiz was trying to say, but for my money, that only makes it better. Different viewers may take away completely different things, but it's definitely not for the novice viewer. This is experimental cinema, bursting through the seams with surrealism, leaving narrative by the wayside. 8.5/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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