DVD Review: PVC-1
PVC-1 (2007)
Studio: IFC
DVD Release Date: September 15, 2009
Directed By: Spiros Stathoulopoulos
Review By: Marc Patterson
PVC-1 is the second low budget film I’ve seen recently that boasts the entire runtime to be one continuous take. Deadbox fared rather poorly, and I’m not going to spend any more of my time discussing why that utterly failed as both a film and an effective marketing gimmick. Right now it is PVC-1, a highly unsuspecting piece of foreign cinema from Columbia that deserves some attention.
The film is shot by Columbian director Spiros Stathoulopoulos (yes, a Greek name) who both wrote/directed, and served as the cinematographer for this winding tension laden story. According to a Variety Magazine article from May of 2007, Stathoulopoulos strength-trained for months leading up to the shooting of this film so that he could effectively operate the stedicam and its rig over the duration of the shoot. The shoot itself is reported to have encompassed over a mile of territory, and as evidenced in the film much of that is not smooth surfaces and paved roads. Yet the camera stays in constant motion, and Stathoulopoulos is incredibly focused and steady showing us each detail exactly as he wants us to see it, at exactly the point for which he wants us to see it.
PVC-1 is an amazingly nerve-wracking experience for any audience member, and surprisingly so. A small gro up of well organized criminals – call them terrorists, extortionists, or what you will – make their way to a farm in the Columbian countryside where we watch them as they quietly prepare for what they are about to do. Virtually no exposition is given up front, or at any point in the film, truly putting us in the passenger’s seat to endure the ride. In an organized fashion that indicates some level of military training, the terrorists swiftly descend upon the farmhouse and efficiently gather together the family where they tie the children up, and make a demand for 15 million pesos, to which they “know” the family has. Truth is, this family would appear to have little to nothing.
Our early curiosity for what is happening, and who exactly these terrorists are, turns to utter horror as they assemble a homemade bomb from PVC piping around the mother’s neck, and explain nothing of the nature of the device to her or the family. They repeat their demand for 15 million pesos, and threaten the family if they cannot produc e it, leaving suddenly. I sat in my seat gripping in fear knowing that this device is a bomb but being forced to watch as the young children feverishly attempt to help their mother remove it with cooking oil, all the while knowing if they succeed in the least bit that will be the end of them all. What follows is an intense ordeal for the family as they race against time to save their mother. In order to be kind to would-be viewers, I won’t further the plot layout here, in order that any viewer’s experience isn’t spoiled. You’ve got the basic premise.
The performances by our small cast are convincing and believable, which helps sell the piece to us. There are a few laughable moments, such as when the father suddenly passes out upon learning that the device is a collar bomb. I have to say it’s not a reaction I’ve seen before in a horror film, and for a moment the audience’s concern ironically moves to the passed out father and away from the mother, who is the one in the most danger. Be a ssured these moments are few and far between, and that for the most part this is both technically sharp, with performances that come across as genuine, if not downright terrifying.
What works well for Stathoulopoulos is his simplistic approach. You could criticize the story, which is based upon a true event, and say that it would have been better told through the use of added cameras, and careful editing. But by filming in real time from a single camera the viewer gets to experience this event unfold right alongside the family. Helping to this effect is a gritty docu-drama look and feel that succeeds in raising the level of realism and suspense, immersing us directly in the film as more of a participant than a voyeur.
What works against Stathoulopoulos is the gimmick of the single continuous take. Especially at first this haunts each moment, and detracts at points from the experience of watching the film. Knowing how this film was shot puts the focus on Stathoulopoulos’ technique and brilliancy in execution, rather than the story-telling. But, if you can switch the geek in your brain off for a bit then you’ll be in for a satisfying film.
PVC-1 is a compelling story that was begging to be told. It’s an intense and sobering look directly at the effects of this kind of terrorism, putting some humanity behind evils that exist. While I’m sure it will be debated as to whether or not the novelty of a continuous take was the best way to accomplish this, ultimately you have to be impressed with the lengths to which were gone to achieve this feat.
Brutal As Hell Rating: 4 out of 5
