A spectacularly striking film photographically yet equally disturbing in dramatic content has been released on DVD. The film delivers a tableau of immeasurable beauty so incredible that even a cinematic travelogue could not have been better. The dreamlike story of Autumn Blood however, takes you on an insidious trip into the life of a young woman living a nightmare in her secluded home set in those same surroundings. Its beauty meets the beasts.
The film opens on a farm in the picturesque Tyrolean Mountains of Austria far from the nearest town. A young 10-year-old girl witnesses her father getting shot by the mayor (Peter Stormare) leaving her mother in shock. The film switches to years later where we find the now 16-year-old girl (Sophie Lowe) and her 10-year-old (Maximilian Harnisch) brother tending the farm while their mother lie in bed sick from a long illness. A short time later their mother dies and the two find themselves alone and living off the land.
One day while swimming in a creek the girl gets accosted and raped by the son of the local Mayor (Samuel Vauramo). When he tells the butcher (Gustaf Skarsgard) and his friend (Tim Morten Uhlenbrock), they set up a plan to make a visit to the girl, but not for a good deed. Director Markus Blunder keeps his film moving along at a slow pace and all of the aforementioned description of the film takes place over the first 60 minutes. He makes the music and landscape a huge part of the film and the struggle that’s at its center.
The expansive hills of Austria are home to the characters. Using wide lenses and shooting from all angles director Blunder makes his film an event. The scraggy mountain tops are always a part of the movie showing season after season of changes from snow to barren rock. It’s the woods and dells around the mountains that get the most time however, with his lenses showing exotic waterfalls, babbling brooks, fast moving creeks, lush forest and rolling farm lands. His town shows ageing and very little progress of population growth. The one church has many benches from which to pray, but not many townsfolk attend.
The acting is mostly bodily expressive by the small cast having very little dialogue with which to deal. Director Blunder guides his players throughout having them show their reactions to the events taking place, but conversation is kept to a very minimum. It’s a tribute to the actors as their performances are outstanding. I especially like Sophie Lowe as the coming of age young lady who has to endure the seasonal elements, raising her young brother and taking care of the homestead. She then has to fend off predators to save her life and his. Her close-ups tell most of the story showing her pain, sadness, longing, fear and contempt.
Her attackers are brutal pursuers and on one long extended scene director Blunder puts the girl on the run as their prey. Through the dense forest she eludes her killers like a deer that’s being closed in on for the kill. Taunted at times to flee, the evil men shoot at their target with narrow misses. This heart wrenching ordeal among the beauty of nature takes your breath away at times, not from the beauty, but with a feel of helplessness.
Autumn Blood has been rated R for violence including rape, and nudity. The film does have a vicious rape scene that may be a little strong for the meek.
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Sophie Lowe, Peter Stormare, Gustaf Skarsgard, Samuel Vauramo, Maximilian Harnisch
Director: Markus Blunder
MPAA Rating: R for violence including rape, and nudity
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 1 hr 40 min
Video Release Date: October 21, 2014
Original Film Release Date: September 10, 2014
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: ARC Entertainment
