Review- Lords of Chaos 2018 Director: Jonas Åkerlund
Lords of Chaos offers its viewers a dark look into the world of a group of confused and fear-stricken adolescents who channel those emotions into creating the Norwegian Black Metal scene with the now infamous band Mayhem. Behind their corpse paint and appetite for both self and community destruction lies a group of young adults who just want to be known at any cost. Jonas Åkerlund does a great job at using inspiration from Mayhem’s actual photo shoots to stage his scenes as well as using his expertise in directing music videos to make you feel as though you are fully versed in this story along with the band. The film delves a bit into the consequences of believing your own hype as well as encouraging others to act out these vicious fantasies on one’s behalf. Deep down they do not believe the words they are saying, but merely express interest in chaos and corruption as a means to mask deeper insecurities and prevent naysayers from questioning one’s motives. I highly recommend this film but fair warning it is incredibly graphic and violent.
The Broken Circle Breakdown
I’m just like everyone else my age for the most part. I went to college right after high school, landed a descent job upon completion, and continue to live my life as I see fit by following my dream of working in the film industry. I went through hell and back to finish film school only to constantly be approached with the question “What are you going to do with THAT degree?” as if there was something wrong with me for not wanting to be a nurse or an accountant. The price of following my heart over my security is a battle I fight on a daily basis and seems to always get the best of me. More than ever lately I began to question whether or not I should continue to follow my passion or if I should just try another path. But today it hit me like a ton of bricks after finally getting the chance to watch a film I’d been dying to see for the longest time now: “The Broken Circle Breakdown” that I was already following the right path.
Sweeping festival awards left and right and nominated for an Oscar this year for best foreign film, “The Broken Circle Breakdown” is a beautiful and tragic drama that really pushes the spectator to question their own limits and strengths on topics including but not limited to love, death, science, religion and politics. This story follows the perfect couple Elise, a tattoo artist and bluegrass musician Didier on their passage through love, lust, and loss. As we tag along with them through their journey, we begin to discover just how much the trials and tribulations of coping with the loss of their only child Maybelle to cancer has taken a toll on their relationship. The narrative continues down a path of self deprecation and really tests the couple’s devotion to one another and presents the audience with some of the toughest questions we often do not want to plague ourselves with unless we personally suffer a great loss or experience other life altering events.
The director Felix Van Groeningen does an excellent job at carrying the narrative through stylish use of color and sound to gain an emotional response from its audience. One scene in particular that tugged at my heart was one where Elise had her first emotional breakdown after her daughter’s passing. Elise is dressed in all white, the color often representing purity and innocence which in term represents her daughter’s spirit. The camera is focused more on her body’s reaction to the tragic news as opposed to her focusing on her teary eyes. The sound is then drowned out briefly to really capture the full effect of Elise snapping back to reality that she can no longer remain cold and detached of the situation at hand. The film continues to push the limits of Elise and Didier’s marriage as well as their own personal beliefs on death and creation until the pain eats them alive to the point where one of them can no longer bear it.
With that being said, you may be asking yourself why a film that lives in such tragedy and sorrow triggered something inside of me that was so strong, it prompted me to write about my everlasting passion for cinema. It’s simple really. Film is an art that can get inside you like no other and communicate to you like no other art form. Film has the power to unite and divide a person or a group of people. It has the ability to appeal to your sight as well as your hearing. Film can make you question your own beliefs and provoke something inside of you that you may have not known was lurking. Examples like “The Broken Circle Breakdown” have that power over me which serves as a great reminder as to why I chose to dedicate my life to film in the first place.
The conclusion or life lesson I wanted you to take away from this? Don’t ever give up on what you’re passionate about. Even if you tuck it away from time to time, bring it out on occasion for the world to see. Even though there is still a great chance I will never make a living working in film, it is too engrained in me to ever give it up entirely. If I have to keep a day job I hate just to maintain my involvement in the film world I already have established, that is still a success story. Passion, drive, and determination are what keeps us going as human beings. I hope this has inspired you to stick with what you are passionate about, even if you never become the cooler version of yourself that you romanticized when you were a kid. Because at the end of the day, life is not worth living if you do not attempt to make the most of it.
“10 Horror Films that will Scare Your Pants Off!”
By: Me and Brittany West
http://www.twentysomethingindy.com/2013/10/18/10-horror-films-that-will-scare-your-pants-off/
Britt's Wit 