FILM: RESTLESS

Restless. The minute the film ended I found myself grasping at the title, wondering, as I always do, where it originated from, what was the story behind it - but it struck me then that it in itself made me restless, and perhaps that was its purpose. Restless is something along the lines of quaint and bold, two adjectives that dance together in a battle of dominance. I didn't quite click with the film and its story until a good quarter of the film had passed, the outrageous antics of Enoch, an obviously troubled boy (I thought at first), who simply attends random funerals to stare at the bodies troubled me and made me somewhat uncomfortable. It is then that you are introduced to the whimsical, life-loving and bird-drawer Annabel, who is perhaps Enoch's medicine. That was an interesting thought that I came to during the film, that the decaying and frail life of Annabel was the medicine for the troubled, rocky yet absolutely full life of Enoch. They compliment each other perfectly and dance through the film in harmony and happiness. It is no wonder that I was left confused; at one time sad and another time happy.



The visuals Gus Van Sant created with Restless were simple masterpieces in a way. They remained relatable, the viewer was not detracted from the story, yet small pieces stuck out to me in an effortless yet utterly purposeful manner. For one, Enoch's 'ghost' Hiroshi (as he calls him) treads carefully as a character, he is altogether believable yet I found the mere flap of his hat a hint at his make-believe nature. It was intriguing to find such a small may-I-say flaw, to become the definition of what I believed.



Each scene seemed perfectly considered, as it should be, Van Sant took care of each minuscule detail and created a piece that was altogether subtly powerful. The seasons changed as life battled death for Annabel, ultimately ending in her death when the snow arrived. The use of this cold created the haze of breath from the characters that grew until it consumed them. There is a terrifyingly powerful love that seeps through the film, it battles so hard with the ultimate demise of the Annabel that I thought of it as some sort of injustice; we are not allowed to cry for the girl who was happy. But a happy girl does not deserve to die.