The East

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 was this supposed to be? An action movie shot artistically? An environmental drama with broader implications? I'm not sure what this film was trying to achieve, but I can say it didn't succeed in capturing my interest. Unpleasant characters that are hard to root for, coupled with an attempt to tell the world that people treat nature poorly. They do, but why do we have to hear about it in a movie that should primarily be action-packed? Or so it pretends. It’s an incredible mess that, I hope, won't become a mainstream affair, even though it seems to be another attempt at making films that aren't Hollywood-like. Why wasn't this made into a documentary? (14/01/2014)