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Cement Garden, The
New Yorker Video // Unrated // August 8, 2000
List Price: $29.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
"The Cement Garden" on the surface seems like a movie about a teenaged boy obsessed with his sister and the incestuous relationship that develops between them; that's unquestionably what the trailer seems to want the audience to think. Anyone who goes in expecting an hour and a half of kiddie porn is going to be extremely disappointed, but film buffs without such perverse sexual tendencies will appreciate "The Cement Garden" for the intelligent and well-crafted film that it is. The setting is a dusty, remote house where four children, including the almost-androgynous Jack and Julie (Andrew Robertson and Charlotte Gainsbourg, respectively). fend for themselves after the loss of their parents, paralleling the epic "Don't Tell Mom, The Babysitter's Dead". (I feel kind of bad using such a stupid joke in a mostly serious review, but sometimes I can't help myself.) Led by Jack and Julie, the children use their wits and a hefty amount of concrete to keep their parents' deaths from coming to light, in fear of being sent to an orphanage. Jack becomes increasingly attracted to his sister, who recognizes his interest and uses it to toy with him, somewhat. Julie is also pursued by an older businessman, who finds himself similarly unknowingly manipulated. This unflinching film about survival and family is perhaps best seen in a group. I picture "The Cement Garden" as the sort of film where I head to a small coffee shop from the theater, where some friends and I spend what seems like hours discussing what we'd just seen... Of course, just having recently moved, I watched this disc by myself, and I don't even drink coffee, but I guess the point's still valid. I need to stop making bad jokes in my reviews. Anyway...
Video: Scarcely better than VHS-quality, "The Cement Garden" is presented full-frame. This New Yorker Films release bears more than a passing resemblance to the DVD output of another independent film company out of New York, Troma...maybe they both share the same low-end telecine house or something. Blacks are rather weak, appearing more like darp purples with brighter purple spots generously sprinkled throughout. Some scenes seem to be lacking in sharpness, and the color palette appears to be a bit washed-out, though both of those are likely due to the way the film was shot and can't really be considered to be a problem with the DVD itself.
I know it sounds as if I'm ranting about the low quality of the video on "The Cement Garden", and while I suppose I am, it's because I consider myself to be more of a DVD critic than a film critic, and a large part of that entails focusing heavily on the visual presentation. No, "The Cement Garden" will not go down as one of the more visually impressive discs I've had the pleasure of viewing, but it's far from unwatchable, and I hope my honesty about how the disc looks won't turn anyone off from seeing this film. Improved video would've been preferred, but I enjoyed "The Cement Garden" enough to look past the DVD's shortcomings.
Audio: The English stereo track on "The Cement Garden" fares better than the video. The soundscape isn't too expansive, but the dialogue is crisp and clear, and some of the surround effects in the basement were effectively creepy.
Supplements: A somewhat muddy, almost sepia-tone full-frame trailer for "The Cement Garden" is a featured extra, though its extensive use of footage from the last few minutes of the film may disappoint those like me who watch trailers first. Among the other trailers on the disc are "The War Zone", "Fireworks", "Fire", and "Afterlife", in a section followed by a New Yorker bio.
As far as other extras related to the film itself, there are cast/crew bios and a series of production notes, focusing on the adaptation, casting, and production, ending with some final notes from Bee Gilbert and author Ian McEwan.
Conclusion: "The Cement Garden" is a fine film, though the content matter may be too much for many. I rather enjoyed it, though the $29.99 MSRP will probably be difficult for anyone but independent/foreign film enthusiasts to pick up, and the subject matter whittles down the potential market even further. I'd definitely recommend seeing "The Cement Garden", and New Yorker's DVD release, though not stunning on its own, is probably going to be the best way to view the film for quite some time to come. Definitely one to add to your NetFlix queue and marginally recommended as a purchase at its comparatively high retail price.
Video: Scarcely better than VHS-quality, "The Cement Garden" is presented full-frame. This New Yorker Films release bears more than a passing resemblance to the DVD output of another independent film company out of New York, Troma...maybe they both share the same low-end telecine house or something. Blacks are rather weak, appearing more like darp purples with brighter purple spots generously sprinkled throughout. Some scenes seem to be lacking in sharpness, and the color palette appears to be a bit washed-out, though both of those are likely due to the way the film was shot and can't really be considered to be a problem with the DVD itself.
I know it sounds as if I'm ranting about the low quality of the video on "The Cement Garden", and while I suppose I am, it's because I consider myself to be more of a DVD critic than a film critic, and a large part of that entails focusing heavily on the visual presentation. No, "The Cement Garden" will not go down as one of the more visually impressive discs I've had the pleasure of viewing, but it's far from unwatchable, and I hope my honesty about how the disc looks won't turn anyone off from seeing this film. Improved video would've been preferred, but I enjoyed "The Cement Garden" enough to look past the DVD's shortcomings.
Audio: The English stereo track on "The Cement Garden" fares better than the video. The soundscape isn't too expansive, but the dialogue is crisp and clear, and some of the surround effects in the basement were effectively creepy.
Supplements: A somewhat muddy, almost sepia-tone full-frame trailer for "The Cement Garden" is a featured extra, though its extensive use of footage from the last few minutes of the film may disappoint those like me who watch trailers first. Among the other trailers on the disc are "The War Zone", "Fireworks", "Fire", and "Afterlife", in a section followed by a New Yorker bio.
As far as other extras related to the film itself, there are cast/crew bios and a series of production notes, focusing on the adaptation, casting, and production, ending with some final notes from Bee Gilbert and author Ian McEwan.
Conclusion: "The Cement Garden" is a fine film, though the content matter may be too much for many. I rather enjoyed it, though the $29.99 MSRP will probably be difficult for anyone but independent/foreign film enthusiasts to pick up, and the subject matter whittles down the potential market even further. I'd definitely recommend seeing "The Cement Garden", and New Yorker's DVD release, though not stunning on its own, is probably going to be the best way to view the film for quite some time to come. Definitely one to add to your NetFlix queue and marginally recommended as a purchase at its comparatively high retail price.
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