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Released by: Artsploitation Films
Released on: July 23, 2013.
Director: Kristina Bouzyte
Cast: Jurga Jutaite, Marius Jampolskis, Brice Fournier
Year: 2012
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The Movie:
Directed by Kristina Bouzyte who co-wrote with Bruno Samper, the 2012 Lithuanian film Vanishing Waves tells the unusual story of a man named Lukas (Marius Jampolskis) who gets involved with a team of neuroscientists. They successfully 'connect' his mind with that of a comatose woman named Aurora (Jurga Jutaite) so that they can use him to explore her mind in hopes that it will shed some light on what's happening in her brain. All of this is done over a series of sensory deprivation experiments involving various monitors and different forms of (sometimes very heavy) medication. As the experiments continue, Lukas and Aurora do form a bond of sorts, one that very quickly turns from mutual curiosity into unbridled lust.
Lukas, understandably, doesn't want the scientists getting in on this side of his relationship with Aurora, and yet, he doesn't want it to end. As such, he starts 'meeting' with her in secret in bizarre landscapes formed from the depths of their collective consciousness. It's then that they start experiencing together more extreme sensations that go beyond simple desire that lead Lukas into entering a 'real world' relationship with the coma victim he's fallen in love with.
Vanishing Waves is an atypical science fiction film. There are no laser battles, aliens or spaceships here but instead a very carefully calculated exercise in exploring a very unorthodox human relationship that would never exist in the first place were it not for the advanced technology developed for the experiment. Like Kubrick's 2001, this is a slow film that is sometimes preoccupied with visuals over plot development but as the film becomes more intense in its depictions of eroticism, it's easy to get wrapped up in it.
The movies makes interesting contrasts in the way that it represents reality compared to the meetings that take place between Lukas and Aurora in their consciousness. The laboratory looks like a recording studio with padding on the walls and everything decorated in black and white save for its human inhabitants. The meetings are different, they're the opposite of the lab's clinical look and are instead mysterious, sometimes very dark, and shot in such a way as to make us want to watch. As the sexual aspect of the movie becomes more intense, the film becomes more explicit, highlighted by a bizarre orgy that takes place on a bed draped with purple sheets inside an otherwise empty room covered in darkness. The emphasis here on what we're supposed to focus on could not be more obvious.
The movie is beautifully shot and well-acted by both Jurga Jutaite and Marius Jampolskis. They handle both the scenes of emotional distance as well as the scenes of lurid passion with an equal amount of professionalism. Here they craft interesting characters that we can care about, and as their 'link' becomes stronger, we're pulled into the conflict that develops between what Lukas should be doing and what Lukas wants to be doing. Not so surprisingly emotion trumps what's best for science, though it's not a decision that he takes likely or even one that he can necessarily control.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Vanishing Waves looks great on DVD presented by Artsploitaiton Films in 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen. Colors are a little hazy in certain sequences but there's no doubt that this was done on purpose when it occurs and it actually works quite well in the context of the story being told. Detail is generally strong and black levels are good except for the orgy scene where everything is intentionally shrouded in darkness save for what plays out in the spotlight. There are no issues with compression artifacts and the image is clean and crisp throughout the duration of the movie. This is about as good as the movie could probably look in standard definition but it's probably safe to say given the strength of the visuals and top notch cinematography that a Blu-ray version would be the ideal way to see it.
The only audio option on the disc is a Lithuanian language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track with optional subtitles provided in English only. Audio quality is quite good. The score sounds really nice, the dialogue seems to be mixed properly and the levels properly balanced. There are no issues with hiss or distortion to report and clarity is strong and there's good depth present throughout the majority of the movie. And optional Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix is included as well, also in Lithuanian.
The only extra on the first disc is a trailer for the feature and trailers for a few other Artsploitation releases. The second disc, however, contains The Collectress, which is filmmaker Kristina Bouzyte's eighty-four minute long debut feature from 2008. The movie stars Gabija Jaraminaite (who actually appears as a doctor in Vanishing Waves) as a children's speech therapist named Gaile who has trouble feeling anything since her father passed away - she's basically suppressed everything. When she's asked to speak at a conference she prepares a video to be used in her presentation and after seeing herself, is overwhelmed with a flood of previously bottled up thoughts and feelings. Intrigued by what she experiences, she borrows a video camera and proceeds to then record herself in different situations to see what kind of experiences she can get out of it. She hires an editor to help her, even using her inheritance to help him out financially knowing full well that he drinks too much. As it turns out, Gaile will go to some interesting extremes in order to feel anything again…
The movie is an interesting statement on how visuals can be manipulated and twisted to suit the agenda of those in charge of the editing and presentation but also makes some thinly veiled barbs at society's inherent tendency to indulge in voyeurism. Though shot on what looks like consumer grade digital video, the photography is impressive as are the performances. Gabija Jaraminaite is not only beautiful but quite a natural in front of the camera delivering work that is both stirring and memorable. Though the film could have been improved by delving deeper into Gaile's own problems and why she suffers from them. We do learn why it is that the recorded images affect her by how the story ties film and video into her father's death, but it's done too quickly. With that said, this is a pretty interesting film even if more time with the setup would have resulted in a stronger, more affecting payoff.
Kristina Bouzyte appears in the seven minute Cineuropa Interview in which she talks about filmmaking in her native Lithuania, her influences and her goals with her work. She comes across as intelligent and articulate and is quite interesting to listen to. There's also a featurette included here called The Making Of Vanishing Waves that is made up of cast and crew interviews and behind the scenes footage shot while the movie was in production. Addressed here are some of the themes that the movie deals with while some of the footage gives us an interesting look at just what those who made this picture dealt with on set.
Rounding out the extras is the option to play the original motion picture soundtrack for Vanishing Waves (text sometimes appears on the screen while you do this, letting you in on some interesting facts and trivia relating to the music in the movie), menus and chapter selection. The disc comes packaged with reversible cover art and a twelve page full color booklet which contains Travis Crawford's thoughts on the feature alongside an interview with Kristina Bouzyte and her co-writer, Bruno Samper, as well as an interview with actress Jurga Jutaite.
The Final Word:
Vanishing Waves is a slow film but it's almost hypnotic in the way that it morphs from the cold and the clinical into a big mess of emotion, passion and all too human lust. Artsploitation Films presents the movie in an impressive two-disc set in very nice shape and with some great extra features as well. All in all, a very strong release of a film that mixes arthouse style with some clever science fiction themes and impressive performances.
