Birthmarked

Two brilliant scientific lovebirds decide it's time to prove, once and for all, that the strategically planned nurturing of children can void natural dispositions, three unsuspecting young ones deliberately chosen for their experiment, unaware of their historical familial traits, ready to grow up embowered in predetermined invariability, secluded in the country far away from constant distraction, homeschooled with amorous calculation, in Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais's Birthmarked, wherein science observes with religious fervour.

A family blooms within the carefully constructed unabashed bucolic laboratory, as two brothers and a sister innocently contend with that which remains unknown, mom and dad stubbornly sticking to the prepped script, hilarity ensuing, as youth spontaneously intervenes.

Malheureusement, if the desired results are not obtained, Catherine (Toni Collette) and Ben (Matthew Goode) must reimburse their patron for every dollar he's spent financing them, and everything that's taken place has been meticulously recorded by live-in Nanny Samsonov's (Andreas Apergis) weekly summaries, and another family from Portugal seems close to publishing their comparable results first, thus, as the pressure exponentially aggrandizes, psychological stabilities contiguously implode.

Bizarro intellectual contraceptive schematics.

Yet also an endearing comedy.

Nourished in a state of nature.

Disciplined in/sincere curiosity.

The parents aren't horrible or anything, but they do use questionable methods as time runs out.

Raising someone in isolation doesn't prove anything anyways.

In regards to living, you have to let complex organisms develop immersed in the unexpected to obtain results that have even the remotest chance of being spread far and wide.

Or so I've thought.

A tiger is generally a ferocious animal.

If you remove it from the jungle and beat it mercilessly it will either die or start to perform tricks for you.

But if you monitor it in the jungle throughout its life you can obtain untainted results.

The tiger left alone to its own devices.

Natural and free.

Unencumbered by prediction or shock therapy.

Birthmarked isn't about tigers, it's about science gone wrong in its quest for objective truth.

Fortunately, it's generally okay if a scientific experiment doesn't achieve miraculous results.

It goes without saying that science is about the slow and steady application of generally agreed upon principles which are constantly scrutinized themselves in order to maximize the universal applicability of its discoveries.

Funding scientific experiments which must produce results is bullshit.

Birthmarked recognizes this and therefore doesn't seem insane while focusing too intently on the adults at the expense of the children.

Novel to see such a narrative reflected through a comedic lens which elevates independent scientific research with no strings attached, since its subject matter so easily applies itself to drama, fantasy, and horror.

Yet by proceeding comedically, the other three genres still generate critical combustions, as formal narrative diversification examines experimental contents.

Strange film.

Whitewash

Bland mundane blunt verisimilitudes cordially plow absurd fail-safes in Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais's campy Whitewash.

It's not that it's bland.

The characters and situations are somewhat bland but the ways in which they mitigate predetermined discourses of the sympathetic hyperstylizes their cerebral forthcomings.

A down-to-earth puzzling routine pervasively co-opts its miscalculated immersions but Bruce's (Thomas Haden Church) struggle to legitimize his poorly executed attempts to avoid the truth apply a lively coat of untarnished wherewithal.

During his discussions with Paul (Marc Labrèche), and others, he tries not to be blunt, but lacks the finely tuned verbal veneers necessary to convivially cloak his to-the-point observations, although he doesn't have many alternatives when interacting with Paul, whose death may not even be as accidental as it appears.

He remains cordial while hiding-out in the wilderness but guilt and fear infiltrate his interactions, causing him to appear awkward and creepy, loneliness, indulgence, bad luck.

He has to pick up supplies from time to time.

He drives a snow removal machine.

The more I think about it, the film seems less and less absurd, as if it's trying to trick you into thinking it's absurd by exfoliating the unexceptional.

Which makes for some constructive camp.

The previews were pleasantly misleading.

I've wanted to see this since I heard Thomas Haden Church was being paired-up with Marc Labrèche.

Brilliant.

Casting by Margery Simkin.

If you're thinking, this winter's been long and harsh, go see this film.

Not only is it worth seeing, it's perfect for a long harsh winter's February.

On par with Premier Amour and Vic + Flo ont vu un ours.