|
US - 2003 Morgan Creek/Warner Bros. Directed by Paul Schrader Written by Caleb Carr Cinematography by Vittorio Storaro With Stellan Skarsgard, Gabriel Mann, Clara Bellar, Billy Crawford, Julian Wadham and Ralph Brown Genre: Horror Setting: 1947 Kenya Role: Rachel Lezsno - Red Cross doctor
 STORY: Father Lankester Merrin, traumatized by the horrors of Second World War, looses faith. Facing the demon in Africa, he must fight to safeguard his beliefs. PRESS:
"Schrader's intelligent, quietly subversive pic emphasizes spiritual agony over horror ecstasy, while paying occasional lip-service to the need for scares. Performances are good to excellent. On the distaff side, Bellar has a smaller but more complex part than Izabella Scorupco did in the Harlin movie, and makes more of it." "As a drama about faith, infused with metaphor and doubt, film achieves moments of real cinematic poetry."
"Dr. Rachel Lesno (Clara Bellar), a humane concentration-camp survivor who operates a clinic."
"Merrin is attracted to a beautiful young medic Rachel (Clara Bellar)." "A far richer affair than its troubled production history might suggest. An intriguing piece of work in its own right, it surely deserves its belated chance to try to reach an audience."
"The interpretation is excellent."
" Exorcism aside, Dominion is well-acted."
"While I have nothing against the supporting actors in the Harlin version, they were horribly miscast. I never believed for one nano second that Scorupco, looking like a runway model on a dirt catwalk, was a medical professional administering to the destitute natives. On the other hand, Clara Bellar as the Holocaust-surviving doctor haunted by her past and trying to make something worthy of what's left of her life, is totally believable, and there is no incongruous sexual attraction between her and Merrin thrown in here, thank goodness."
"...Dr. Rachel Lesno (Clara Bellar), a Holocaust survivor running a clinic in the village. Both Mann and Bellar do good, grounded work here, with Bellar's characterization more believable than Izabella Scorupco's misconceived Beginning counterpart."
"In Schrader's film, she is portrayed by Clara Bellar, a European actress who has worked with the likes of Eric Rohmer and is convincing as a woman dealing with the shameful memories of the lengths that she went to in order to save her skin during the war. In HarlinŐs version, the character is now played by sexbomb Izabella Scorupco, a former Bond Girl whose strikes an improbably glamorous figure in the middle of the desert and whose concerns about saving her skin seem to extend only to the late-night showers that she indulges in for no other apparent reason than to give the audience an eyeful."
"A milestone in movie history. Not a "director's cut" but a different director and a different film. It's a strong, true and intelligent film that kept me fascinated and fearful from beginning to end."
" A remarkable film. It's a haunting work, filled with richness and texture, going far beyond what is expected of a mere continuation of an established classic. This is a film that plays on in your mind long after the credits have stopped rolling."
Enough Trouble to Make Your Head Spin GQ - March 2003 (Click here to read full article)
On Set Interview - Chud.com - February 2003
Click here to read
Watch Out, Satan!
|
