‘In The Lost Lands’ REVIEW: Dangerous Desires in Dystopia
‘In The Lost Lands’ REVIEW: Dangerous Desires in Dystopia
Milla Jovovich as Grey Alys/ Still from the official trailer
When Batista walks into frame and says that he’s about to tell you a story of magic and monsters, you’ve got every incentive to hear him out.
Before publishing the sprawling series that he would eventually be known for, George R.R. Martin of A Song of Ice and Fire fame first published the short story In the Lost Lands in 1982, a monkey’s paw-esque fantasy tale revolving around the sorceress Grey Alys who does not deny any wish that others would want to be granted, in ways that the desirees could not have expected. Martin himself has stated prior that he initially had wanted to write several more stories with the sorceress, although said plans never went to fruition.
Decades after its publication (and after - or on some level because of - the eventual success of the ASOIAF series and its television franchise), In the Lost Lands has received a sort of second life, now adapted into a multi-million dollar film helmed by genre flick director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil series, Event Horizon) and starring Anderson’s artistic stalwart and real-life spouse Milla Jovovich (who has starred in all of the Resident Evil films and Anderson’s last film Monster Hunter) as well as former ‘animal’ Dave Bautista, who has carved out an interesting post-WWE career for himself, starring in pivotal roles in features directed by Denis Villenueve, M. Night Shyamalan, and Zack Snyder, among many others.
Anderson has been, for a lack of a better term, divisive among various critics and audiences throughout his career. Some decry his lack of reverence to the source material (often video games) he’s adapting and his reliance on flash-in-the-pan visualization over substantive scriptwriting (though he has been involved in more considerably tangible controversy in the past). Others praise him as an auteur with a distinct, idiosyncratic grasp on genre filmmaking. While a number might be either fascinated or concerned with the names attached to this project, one’s doubts could be a bit quelled, because this movie works in its own odd, compelling way.
In the Lost Lands mostly keeps the central narrative bones of the original short story intact. Set within a post-apocalyptic world, high-ruling Lady Melange (Amara Okereke, who is primarily known for her work in theatre such as in a West End run of Les Misérables) approaches Grey Alys (played by Jovovich) with her wish to gain the power of shapeshifting and to send her on a journey to the eponymous Lost Lands, where she is to kill a shapeshifting beast and take her powers. Her loyal knight and champion, Jerais (Simon Lööf, So Long, Marianne), also approaches the sorceress for his own desire to not have the queen get what she wants, for he believes it is not good for her. In the debt of two conflicting goals, Alys sets upon her journey to the Lost Lands, finding company in Boyce (Bautista), both a hunter and drifter who finds comfort in the place, as they both encounter obstacles in search of the beast, whom they must find before the next full moon.
Milla Jovovich (left) and Dave Bautista (right) as Grey Alys and Boyce / Still from the official trailer
Now, that’s the core of Martin’s story that mostly takes play in the set-up and conclusion of the story (along with a further expansion of the ending that Martin approved). The middle stretch however, is a further expansion of the world beyond and alongside the Lands, most notably a city under the thumb of a fascistic religious sect, who serve as the direct antagonists in this incarnation, and its clash with the working-class citizens that view Grey Alys as a figurehead of rebellion. We also get a wider array of settings, influences from Westerns, additional political conflict between the Church and the royal government, and a bit more intrapersonal insight on Alys’ own insecurities as a purveyor of wishes and supposed altruism.
These, and other interesting details however, are intriguingly played quite broad in Constantin Werner’s screenplay, coming off as necessary beats to be played in order to keep the briskness of plot pacing and in service of action-packed set pieces. In addition, there is a certain matter-of-fact gravity to the surface-layer writing that, while certainly absorbs one into the fantasy world, it does make things a bit constrained when it comes to potential depths being mined in conjunction with the broad —perhaps to the point of being abstract — presentation of plot points, even if the narrative of the short story at its periphery still works for the most part.
The world and its elements might not be the most original, as one could spot the potential elements lifted from other films of its ilk, but it is still one that inspires a potentially deeper dissection. When considering that the briskness is in service for what’s essentially a quest narrative which uses a countdown timer and a map as scene transitions, I’d say it sort of justifies itself in a very earnest way, but as a whole, the script here really is a double-edged sword, and depending on your mileage, its pros and cons are either features or bugs.
What ultimately bolsters what is on the page is the film’s tantalizing visual form. The way this movie was filmed was a combination of practical sets and virtual blue screens (with backgrounds rendered by Unreal Engine), allowing Anderson and crew to be more flexible in terms of framing and lighting due to real-time merging of the digital and corporeal. This flexibility shows in the effectiveness of the hazy virtual lens the film is shot with, the post-apocalyptic world filled with distinct popping colors and textured frames that fully sell its scope.
There are various individual compositions here, made with Anderson’s now-patented penchant for symmetry, that immediately grab your attention by looking absolutely cool as hell. The action is also similarly imaginative and high-octane, with the more frenetic moments shot with both grace and sharp style. If well-placed slow-motion and frames that look ripped from a comic are your thing, then this has some undeniable ones. The one consistent strength that In The Lost Lands has that serves as its roaring engine is its undeniable imagemaking, the result of which reaches for more impact than a number of other high-budget tentpoles that use adjacent techniques and certainly more than keeps the momentum of the film up until the end (where it takes one more amusing formal choice that isn’t used too much nowadays).
A crow and a beast about to collide / Still from the official trailer
This is certainly a case where you could describe the style as the substance, the uncanny unreality (pun unintended) of the visuals giving way to a sense of heightened wonder that permeates all throughout, and it is certainly infectious if one is to get into its look and rhythm.
Acting-wise, Jovovich and Bautista are certainly the standouts, the former imbuing a sense of fragile, determined humanity to an enigmatic figure, and Bautista’s register of solemnity and warmth plays off of her effectively, making the direction of their character arcs investing to get into within the confines of Martin’s original tale. Okereke and Lööf do serviceable work as the two unknowingly conflicting ‘customers’ of Alys, while both Arly Jover (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) and Fraser James (Terminator: Genisys) ham and cheese it up quite decently as the main figureheads of the Church.
Beneath the slight eccentric clunkiness of In The Lost Lands lies a very stylish and charmingly operatic slice of fantasy that believes in its own scrappy, wondrous illusions, and is all better for it. Backed with confident digital filmmaking and wistful vibes from 2000s blockbusters, you might find yourself with entertaining escapist multiplex fare if you open yourself to its unabashed enthusiasm. There’s a metal train with a tank attached and a river made of skulls here, of course it’s dorky as all hell (affectionate).
In The Lost Lands is now showing in Philippine cinemas through Pioneer Films.
