Vinyan Review

Vinyan
Grieving mother Jeanne is suddenly convinced that her young son who supposedly dies in the 2004 tsunami is alive and somewhere in the Thai-Burmese jungle. Her and her husband set off on a dangerous and horrifying journey to find him.

by David Parkinson |
Published on
Release Date:

02 Oct 2009

Running Time:

97 minutes

Certificate:

18

Original Title:

Vinyan

Evoking such dislocating studies of grief as Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now, this is less a supernatural thriller than a Conradian odyssey into a broken heart of darkness. Convinced she’s seen the son presumed killed in the 2004 tsunami on Julie Dreyfus’ video footage, Emmanuelle Béart drags husband Rufus Sewell ever deeper into the Burmese jungle.

Benoît Debie’s imagery is both hallucinatory and authentic, but an implausible plot lurches between discussions of restless spirits and graphic gore. Béart gets close to histrionic as she exposes herself to physical risk, but her descent into maternal mania is never less than harrowing.

Horrific and harrowing but the narrative arc could leave the audience unmoved.
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