Reviewed by Aaron Haynes
Jordi
Visser: One of the most talented directors in the community, and
historically one of the most controversial. His philosophy on
what's most important in a movie is demonstrated tellingly in
each of his films, the belief that the more abstract stylistic
qualities of storytelling take precedence above all else,
including the narrative (I thought of this adage several times
while watching JDR Revival). To a degree this has always been
effective, even in the disappointing "Reunion", and establishes
that while he seems incapable of making poorly edited film, he
has on occasion made some rather frustrating ones. Stranger 4 at
long last brings this filmmaking approach to fruition in a big,
big way; the control he exerts over the movie is so brisk, so
effortless, that what results is not just a zany romp through
the conventions of classic Westerns, but a wonderfully sublime
realization of his style, proving at long last that the man
knows exactly what he's doing. Visser is in the zone.
The introduction, particularly the use of the music to enhance
the western-esque narration, was absolutely captivating. Before
even the first line was uttered, I was grinning ear to ear in
anticipation and leaning close to the screen to see what would
appear after each black screen cut. Stranger 4 has, without
question, the most attention-grabbing opening in the history of
3DMM; this is essential because Jordi's storytelling style
resembles a sort of drunken waltz, leaning in whatever direction
the wind happens to be blowing for long periods of time, so that
we eagerly anticipate seeing it finally take the step. Having
not seen any of the previous Stranger films, I got a vibe from
this fourth installment that Jordi was refining the storytelling
of the series, incorporating previously used story elements in
new ways to create a much more powerful version of what had gone
before. Not in that it felt like an old story being redone in a
new way, but more as if he was using bits and pieces of things
he had tried before, and perfecting the way they were used.
Surely the film is a much-refined take on previous iterations of
his style, breaking down things people compared to Maltby and
making them his own. At long last his voice is entirely
separated from Maltbyisms of the past, and it turns out to be
more creative and original than anything I could have imagined
he would become.
Stranger 4 is silly, breezy, and wonderfully immersive. We're
given a hugely funny riff on the Terminator 2 time travel plot,
with a determined Stranger heading into the past to take down a
notoriously cruel outlaw named John Duke. While this most basic
of plots hovers over what happens during the course of the
movie, it serves as a loose outline rather than a linear quest.
Within the first five minutes, Jordi lazily and gleefully drifts
into tangents involving elephants, gnomes, persistent bar
patrons, cruise ships, and of course the wide-open, unforgiving
desert. Perhaps the most astonishing thing about the plot is
that despite the fact that a good 60% of it is devoted to
aimlessness, the film never suffers from the apparent diversion.
One of the more memorable bits of iconography here, the
time-passage sequences created by a series of scene fades, work
wonderfully in conjunction with the music, and the dreamlike way
in which Stranger limps to a car after falling from a
non-ground-floor window is strangely (hah) captivating. Jordi
turns scenes that could have been dangerous in the hands of an
unskilled director into beautiful realizations of his style. Who
would have thought whole minutes of Stranger wandering dazedly
through the desert could be so interesting to watch?
The incredible style of the film is punctuated by some truly
hilarious moments. The floaty, mesmerizing atmosphere of the
film is heightened to a level of surrealism in John Duke's hotel
room when Stranger fires several bullets through the door to
form a smiley face (great Sam & Max reference), as well as the
discovery of the contents of his wardrobe. When Stranger is
instructed to "throw down your gun and kick it towards me," his
throw lands the gun a foot away from John Duke's feet, and he
walks all the way over to tap it forward a few inches with his
foot. Some of the writing here is just brilliant. And in the
hotel room as well as the final sequence in the film, Jordi
illustrates a tendency to let a situation linger and lean
forward for a while before ending it rather quickly -- this
straddles the line between a stylistic choice and rather
impulsive writing, but maintains the former for the most part.
Technically, it's a definite heavyweight. Some of the
construction and animation techniques here are utterly
mindblowing. The use of music to effectively choreograph long
segments where little happens is the work of a true
professional. Brilliantly chosen, yes, but also some of the best
music used in a 3DMM film in its own right; it's rare when a
director takes time to track down a unique theme for their work,
incorporating different variations to suit what's happening
onscreen. I want to download some of these tracks, badly. The
voice acting, while not as stellar as some of the big-name
releases that have emerged since, does the job, matching the
gleefully lazy feel of the movie step for step. Jaymond brings a
deadpan quality to the role of Stranger, creating a character
who seems a little vacant and might be wandering mentally; in
other words, it runs perfectly parallel to the way he acts and
the way the movie seems to behave for the most part.
In short, Stranger 4 stands as the film to direct people to when
they wonder how style, independent of concrete narrative, can
support an experience almost entirely by itself. There are a few
stumbles, to be sure -- Jordi is in love with every shot in the
movie and sometimes it begins to wander into self-indulgence
(the ending is the chief offender, bringing the film to a
comparatively subpar close far too quickly), but as a whole
Stranger 4 absolutely triumphs. If Jordi can maintain the sort
of consistent tone and wry brilliance found here in his future
works, he could do this forever and I'd be more than satisfied.
If he considers Stranger 4 to be another stepping stone towards
the complete realization of his style, then I'm anticipating So
Far Gone with an excitement that quite frankly borders on
ridiculous.
Critical Score: 96/100.
Personal Score: 97/100.
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