I guess I’ll start by saying my review will not be like the others. I was a bit disappointed and confused by this film, but sure enough, other reviewers blew this movie long and hard. I will not.

The basic premise is that a couple (played by Emmanuelle Beart and Rufus Sewell) travel into the dangerous jungles of Burmese looking for their missing son thinking he was captured by human traffickers. Rambo did not escort them, so they are not safe. Wife Janet slowly descends into madness while husband Paul still supports her lunacy. They run into monkeys and feral children. This ends badly inevitably.

There are a ton of comparisons to THE EMERALD FOREST, APOCALYPSE NOW, BEGOTTEN, and so on. The strong point of this film is obviously the gorgeous cinematography and the eerie music. But that is hardly enough to hold a horror fan’s interest. This is the type of film that will divide fans straight down the middle. You’ll have some calling it genius and others calling it boring as hell. I feel a little of both.

This film plays more like a character drama than a horror film. There is minimal gore, but some disturbing scenes. However, the huge block called the Second Act is very slow and will test the audience’s patience. This long stretch of running time consists of the couple walking through the forest silently for 10 minutes, riding a boat silently for another 10 minutes, laying bed silently for 10 minutes, etc.

As for the drama aspect, I believe people with children will appreciate this film more than a slightly younger generation would. It is hard to associate with a mother who has lost her child and the husband that will do anything to make her happy again. But it was rather interesting to see her go crazy towards the end. She barely even acknowledges her own husband whether she is stealing his money to pay for a ride or running away from him in search of something else or being completely detached during a sex act. But he is even more obsessed than her because despite knowing they are in danger, he goes along with the plan every step of the way. In the name of love, of course. Guess who pays for this.

I bet you want to hear about how Du Welz also directed CALVAIRE. Too bad. I didn’t like that film much either. But I will tell you about the awesome Rufus Sewell who stars in this. Most Americans know him as the jerk boyfriend of Kate Winslet in THE HOLIDAY. But nevermind that. He was in THE ILLUSIONIST, A KNIGHT’S TALE, DANGEROUS BEAUTY, and DARK CITY. Julie Dreyfus (not the chick from Seinfeld) was also in this. She has a minor part but dudes that liked her in KILL BILL will dig her here I guess.

The main reason why this film annoyed me is the title Vinyan. There is a line in the film, “When someone dies a horrible death, their spirit becomes confused and angry. It becomes…Vinyan.” What the hell does that even mean? There are no ghosts in this film. The film barely even deals with the missing son. It focuses on the mother’s love turned obsession turned madness. The main focus is on the couple and ultimately their resolution has nothing to do with the missing son. I won’t go on further, but the last scene is unsettling. Whether or not you want to put up with the rest of the film to get to it is up to you.