East, The

A year ago Batmanglij made a big splash with his indie début Sound of My Voice. It was a demanding film, but the reward was an experience that didn’t dampen your brain activity; quite the contrary, its ambiguity and vagueness encouraged you to participate more actively. So it’s such a disappointment that his second film, The East, is basically silly and simplistic environmentalist nonsense that arrives to the unoriginal and shallow conclusion that “conservationists are good, corporations are bad, but the struggle against them should not cross certain boundaries” only thanks to the very unconvincing behaviour of the characters (especially the scene with the deaf girl). One of the closing scenes (the apple in the basket) literally made roll on the floor laughing – and I’m afraid the creators meant it seriously. (03.09.2013)

What is this supposed to be? An action film made artistically? An environmental drama with a message? I don't know what this film was trying to achieve, but I can only say that it didn't succeed in my case. Unlikeable characters that you simply can't root for, along with an attempt to tell the world that people behave horribly towards nature. They do, but why do we have to hear about it in a movie that should probably be primarily action-packed? Or at least pretend to be. This is an incredible farce, which, I hope, won't become a mass phenomenon, although it's clear that it's another response to how to make films that won't be Hollywood-like. Why wasn't this made as a documentary instead? (14.01.2014)