User reviews

The great mistake in Vinyan is to have tried to sell it as a classical horror movie from Hollywood, like The Ruines or The Grudge.

Don't expect any cheap thrills or funny Fx, it's a deep drama about an occidental woman in Asia, falling into madness after the loss of her child, with a post-tsunami background.

I can understand why some people are so disappointed, the subject is disturbing and unusual : how can you accept the loss of your child without a clear evidence of his death, and how can you express your own pain in a devastated country where most people are going through intense sufferings, violence and poverty ?

Even if Vinyan is not perfect, i really liked the very dark atmosphere that stay with you long after the end of the film. I'm not a huge fan of Emmanuelle Béart but I think she is quite convincing in this role, far from her usual characters.

I completely get what the director was trying to do, and it was a mock-valiant effort on his part; the dark settings, the dream-like shots, and the faux-delusional performance by the main actress. The philosophical undertones are there, they just need to be dug out from beneath the hard-to-buy acting and set-ups. We are all interchangeable, at a physical and psychic level; in her state of utmost despair, Jeanne was hurdled into a psychotic state of mind, and very interestingly incorporating the semblance of delusional misidentification syndrome (namely, Fregoli syndrome); any and all of those children were Joshua. I do believe that this film could have gotten its point across, because the premise is actually appealing; unfortunately that was not enough to leave me with more than an empty sensation after it ended. The dude playing Paul was not believable, and his reactions to the bizarre situations arising were deadened by his own disbelief as an actor. Jeanne just figured that adopting the dead fish expression throughout the film would be sufficient, apart from a possible ripoff from the Piano Teacher with regards to the sex scene in which any and all human emotion has long abandoned her carcass. Now, the only crude emotion she displayed was during the final scene, and I believe this was not a scripted reaction; her smiling showed simply her obvious arousal with the situation, in a very primitive and sexualized manner, irrespective of any taboos people may have about the particular content. Again, it was the symbolic transfiguring into the literal, as the psychogenic breast was incorporated into the lives of children who had no healthy attachment to a caregiver, so we can look at the scene as a form of regression on their part, reacquiring the breast in an attempt to somehow be reborn through her... and she experienced the giving of life in this straining-to-be-poignant moment, and was thus reborn as well.

Superb scenery with some top class cinematography.

Fake lips however, if I remember correctly weren't really a thing back in 2005. The poor leading lady always appears to either have just been stung by a wasp on her top lip, or punched in the face.

Taken for a ride.

An American couple in Thailand discover possible evidence that their young son who died in a tsunami six months earlier is still alive and living in the jungles of Myanmar (Burma). They pay some dubious characters a lot of money to go up river into the forbidden country. Things go from bad to worse.

Many viewers denounce "Vinyan" (2008) because it's not a typical horror film, but that's precisely why it's worthwhile. It's original. It's equal parts haunting, beautiful, strange and creepy. The plot is thin, yet the story maintains your attention.

The acting is excellent all around and you buy these people as real. The five main characters being: Paul and Jeane Bellmer (Rufus Sewell and Emmanuelle Béart), a human trafficker named Thaksin Gao, the captain of the small boat named Sonchaï and the couple's liaison, Kim (Julie Dreyfus).

Memorable parts abound, such as Kim's subtle-but-clear seduction of Paul, the beautiful floating-lanterns at the beach ceremony and the awesome tree fortress.

The meaning of the film is ambiguous, but it provokes thought on several things: The nature of grief (letting go or not letting go), obsession, madness, tribal instincts, going feral and more.

As for the tribe of lost kids in the last act, are they 'vinyan' -- angry, confused spirits who suffered horrible deaths -- or are they simply a pack of kids gone wild in the jungle à la "Lord of the Flies"? I say the evidence points to the latter.

In any case, "Vinyan" has elements of films like "Apocalypse Now," "The Emerald Forest," "Fitzcaraldo" (or "Aguirre") and the aforementioned "Lord of the Flies."

The film runs 1 hour, 36 minutes, and was shot in Thailand.

GRADE: B+

Seems that many hated this mysterious chiller. Some thought it great, I quite liked it.

The premise was a little different to the usual, with added credibility of the tsunami link and thus a genuine, human emotion for the couple to search for their missing child. Such emotion can be justifiably overblown in movies - making psychological issues out of almost anything.

Yes, it looked good, very good. The attractive, sexy leads, (Emmanuelle Beart and Rufus Sewell, who still managed to remain mostly believable) the sultry landscapes and the monsoon weather, all adding to a great, eerie atmosphere. That it is compared, albeit only visually, to Apocalypse Now is to its credit, surely. Yes, it is ultimately mumbo- jumbo black magic nonsense but that hardly mattered, this is a moody chiller, not world class drama.

The final scenes are not only well done, but pretty chilling, too. Not out and out horror, but ones that make you momentarily stare in numbed disbelief. The whole is greatly helped by a hauntingly atmospheric score by François-Eudes Chanfrault.

No, I won't be searching for other films by director Fabrice du Welz but I've seen a lot worse movies in my time and for what it set out to do, was quite good.

Fabrice Du Welz is that kind of director who doesn't make a film every year. The best known so far directed by him was Calvaire (2004). A horror that really took you by the throat. Vinyan was his follow-up made 4 years later. It's a complete other flick, still, it delivers some dark moments. People are arguing about it in what genre you would classify it, sure, it's a drama but the overall atmosphere gives it a horror feeling too. Towards the end it do goes darker and darker and once the children take over the jungle it surely reminded me of Children Of The Corn.

As I said, it's the atmosphere that defines this flick. The opening sequence already gives you the feeling what you will get. And i mean before Jeanne Bellmer (Emmanuelle Béart) comes out of the water. The acting by her and Rufus Sewell is excellent. The score used is creepy too and adds toward the atmosphere. It isn't arty but it leans against it. The director surely knew what he wanted.

The drama lays in the fact that Jeanne has lost her child and wants to find him back against all the negative advise. So she travels with her husband to the country she's thinking they could find him, but they need help from the locals, but the deeper they go in the woods the worser it gets. The horror lays in the fact that once they are deep in the wood and are depending on some guys money takes over and people are dying for it. Naturally the locals doesn't like what's going on and are out for revenge. It's low on blood but the last scene is worth watching.

Excellent performances, great camera-work, good score, that's what makes it a special experience to watch. And for those who want to see Emmanuelle Béart in her nudies, she goes full frontal.

Gore 1/5 Nudity 1,5/5 Effects 2/5 Story 3/5 Comedy 0/5

In Phuket Island, Thailand, the architect Paul Bellmer (Rufus Sewell) and his wife Jeanne (Emmanuelle Béart) lost their son Joshua in a tsunami six months ago. Jeanne is disturbed and has not accepted the loss of her beloved son. While watching some footages from Myanmar (former Burma), Jeanne is convinced that a boy wearing a Manchester United shirt in a poor village is Joshua, and Paul accepts to seek out their son in the sea gypsies camp. They hire the trafficker Thaksin Gao (Petch Osathanugrah) and they travel in the boat of master Sonchai (Amporn Pankratok) to search Joshua. After a series of weird incidents, Sonchai leaves the trio in an abandoned village. They have to walk through the jungle where they face a journey to hell.

"Vinyan" is a disturbing journey to insanity visibly inspired in "Apocalypse Now" and with the same style of "Antichrist". The slow paced plot is supported by a good screenplay, stylish cinematography that keeps the environment of a nightmare and another outstanding performance of Emmanuelle Béart. I agree that this type of movie is not for everyone, but those that like original psychological horror stories without gore, explosions and special effects, will certainly enjoy "Vinyan". My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Espíritos Condenados" ("Doomed Spirits")

A father and a mother are living in Thailand, months after the tsunami that destroyed so many lives there. They lost their son in the flooding and are halfway between hopeful and completely lost and refusing to go home. When they hear the news of people selling children as slaves and see a picture of what might be their son they go out to search for more information.

Starting as the painful search for a missing family member this film clearly shows the choices one makes when faced with a problem one never should have to face. The desolation in the eyes of the parents is clear, the desperation of their choices is completely believable. And from there it goes - as the search leads them over the dark rivers one cannot escape the pain as the two of them are slide deeper and deeper into madness. Everything that happens matches the possibilities of a situation like this and that makes the film all that harder to chew down on. It's a sad tale and the ending is strange, but fitting.

7 out of 10 missing children

really, really bad. Characters extract no empathy, sub-plots and arcs appear utterly irrelevant and the ending, oh my God, the ending. I wont say too much as this might spoil things for those with the stamina to stay for the duration but I am sure the young teenage lads were fighting for prime position. The whole thing was a complete waste of time and probably one of the all time worst films I have ever seen. My wife, who is prone to falling asleep when films don't grab her attention, stayed awake because she could not believe how bad it was.

I know there will be the "arty" types who will post comments about how haunting it was and how any contrary comment comes from the Philistines amongst us but please, please, avoid this film if you value your time. It was and is, absolute tosh.

I love suspense, thriller and horror movies. I saw the trailers for this movie when it was in theaters, and it's trailers often came on from movies I rented. Sadly the trailer is the best thing about this movie. There is no redeeming quality to the lead actress. I wanted to slap and shake her throughout the film. Several things happen that are so implausible that you have to keep saying to yourself, "It's only a movie - that makes no sense." I was so intrigued by the description if this film. The idea has a lot of potential, but the way it's handled is a bore. We laughed when we should have been scared and talked over the "scary" part. There is no suspense or thrill, and the only horror is that I sat through the whole thing.

This was pretty creepy and a lot more violent of a film then you would think based on the plot. Cast acted well. The story of their missing son could have been explored more because I couldn't really tell if they find him or not. The feral children gave the scare factor which added an almost horror element to it. Overall not bad but I did hope for a little more.

"Vinyan" is the type of movie that just doesn't sit well with everyone or has a certain appeal to just anyone in the audience. I had expectations to this movie, because from what I read on the DVD cover, then I was intrigued.

And then I watched the movie, and that expectation dissipated like mist before the rising morning sun. This movie wasn't anything at all what I had expected it to be.

What works well enough in "Vinyan" is the atmosphere and the building up of suspense. However, it is not really given enough room to bloom into something great, because it is weighed down by the horrible slow pace the movie trots forward in. Plus, the characters in the movie were not really characters with dimensions and personalities that you cared about; they came off a shallow and lifeless drones that were just milling about at the whim of the director.

Visually, then there is a lot of great scenes, especially in the jungle, that are impressive.

However, entertainment-wise, then "Vinyan" fails to fully deliver, at least for my account. I suppose I wasn't in that particular target audience that would find such a movie enjoyable.

Before watching "Vinyan",I read some comments of IMDb users. Most of all said that the movie is a crap, that nobody should waste one hour and a half of your life watching it. Well, I guess that I saw some other movie.

First of all, the comparisons with David Lynch's works are not fair. Vinyan takes a direction that Lynch never got on his works (an original approach to ghost stories). So, don't believe if you read that this movie is a bad copy of Lynch's works.

Fabrice du Welz shows again why he's a great director,a truly great horror director (how can some critics call Darren Lynn Bousman, Eli Roth an Rob Zombie the "horror directors of the new generation"?). The atmosphere of his craft is fabulous, he manages to make the tension and insanity grow slowly and steadily.

Another great achievement of Welz is documentary feel that he impressed with his direction. The locations of the movies are also great, big and mysterious jungles, like if they were abyss that you just enter, but never leaves them.

Emanuelle Béart,with his explosive beauty, and Rufus Sewell give great performances. The process of disintegration of their marriage showed by them as they delve into the jungle is awesome.

Finally, this is the kind of movie that, before you try to comprehend it, you must feel it.

If you like it, watch "Calvaire", Welz's previous work, a real horror gem.

I had low expectations for this movie but was very pleasantly surprised. The slow pace of the storyline allows a gradual build-up of the atmosphere, which kept me interested to the end. This is helped by great set of locations (derelict villages and temples, rotting jungles...) that are masterfully depicted - both vividly and with a dreamlike quality that increases as the movie progresses. The actors are good (Petch Osathanugrah is particularly creepy) but do not overplay their roles, contributing to the dreamlike sensation. As the end draws near, the boundaries of reality, imagination and symbolism dissolve...

Most of the negative reviews here seem to come from people expecting a horror/gore movie or comparing Vinyan to Lynch's work. While there are graphic aspects to the movie, very creepy characters and an ending open to interpretation, these comparisons are inadequate. Forget about them and watch Vinyan with an open mind - you might not like it (it is one of its kind and not for everyone) but you won't regret having watched it.

This is the first time I've ever commented on a movie on IMDb, but I could not let this one go. This is by far the worst movie I have ever seen, The sound is terrible, the story line is terrible and Emmanuelle Béart is terrible. I have seen Rufus Sewell in other movies and he is a good actor, why he did Vinyan I haven't a clue. Unless you think you need to be punished for something, STAY AWAY FROM THIS MOVIE!!! It definitely makes the top Ten of worst films ever made. The plot is weak and it seems to drag in many parts of the movie. It also seemed as if the Director added sexual content that really had nothing to do with the movie. I believe watching paint dry would have been a better use of my time.