Alone at sea, and then a refugee: Wolfgang Fischer's provocative morality tale, STYX opens

The new movie STYX appears to be named for that titular river of myth that one must cross to get to the underworld (or from the underworld to our living earth). Though TrustMovies does not recall the word being mentioned aloud in the film, its significance will not be lost on those who see this disturbing work. In it, co-writer (with Ika Künzel) and director Wolfgang Fischer introduces us to a medical doctor, evidently a very good one, whom we initially see in action saving the life of a victim of a car accident.

Immediately after, our gal is in her very well-equipped sailboat, off on a long sail to an island she wants to visit (and which we see only in a picture book she's taken with her on the boat).

The film opens -- in Gibraltar -- with a shot of wildlife that makes you imagine you're in the tropics or jungle, but as the camera opens up, you realize, oh -- it's civilization. Or perhaps an unusual meld of the civilized and the wild.

Herr Fischer, the Austrian filmmaker shown at right, has put together a movie that is as visceral as it is thoughtful and provocative. The scenes of our heroine -- strongly and vividly brought to life German actress Susanne Wolff (below and whom the press kit tells us is herself a credentialed sailor) -- managing all that is required for safe, smart seafaring, are handled by the actress, director and cinematographer (Benedict Neuenfels) with utter aplomb.

Once out to sea, our good doctor, Reike, meets (via shortwave radio) a nice, helpful fellow who warns her of an upcoming storm. It hits but is not especially harmful. The next day, however, she encounters a boat full of what looks like African refugees seeking European asylum. They appear to need immediate help, so she calls this in. The Coast Guard tells her to keep her distance, turn around and leave; they're handling it all. But as the hours pass, they are clearly not, and probably intentionally so.

Several of the refugees have jumped overboard and are trying to swim to her sailboat. One of them (Gedion Oduor Wekesa, above) manages the distance, barely, and from here onward, Styx becomes a kind of moral parable involving everything from the Hippocratic Oath to lawbreaking, common decency (or perhaps only how we used to define this term), survival and a whole lot more.

There is damned little exposition to the movie. What we see (and hear) is what we get, so the viewer must decipher more than is necessary in most films. This is nowhere near impossible, however, and soon we are placed firmly in the mind and moral quandary of Reike and her rescue as she and he do what they must, so far as they understand this. (The film's ending made me hope for a sequel, in which the legal and moral ramifications of Reike's -- and the Coast Guard's -- actions are further explored.)

Considering the question of immigration and what it means to Europe the rest of the western world, the movie could hardly be more timely. Yet Styx proves a good deal more than mere agitprop. It is also a very well-made movie that functions on one level as superior entertainment, even as it forces the viewer to question what s/he would do in a circumstance like this one. It may bring to mind another memorable film, Italy's Terrafirma, which in one particular scene takes an even more difficult look at immigration and the choices we face.

From Film Movement, in English and German (with English subtitles) and running just 94 minutes, Styx has its U.S. theatrical premiere this Wednesday, February 27, in New York City at Film Forum, after which it will play 25 or more cities across the country, including, come March 15, Los Angeles (at Laemmle's Royal) and Boca Raton (at the Living Room Theaters). Click here and scroll down to see all currently scheduled playdates, cities and theaters.

Sprague Theobald's THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ICE gives us family and adventure

An embarrassing documentary by a fellow whose bona fides would not appear to include filmmaking, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ICE tracks a trek by the film-maker, together with members of his family and a few outsider crewmen, across the infamous Northwest Passage that has, over time, taken a lot of explorers' and seamen's lives. What supposedly makes this film special is its combination of family tale and life-threatening adventure. If only.

Sprague Theobald, shown at right, seems like an intelligent enough man who certainly possess seafaring skills. And his decision to light out from Newport, Rhode Island, toward more northern climes could have resulted in an interesting film. The reason that it does not is due to Theobald's almost complete inability to understand what an audience needs and wants to know. This guy consistently feeds us too little of one thing and too much of the other. And then vice-versa. If we're going to probe family problems, lets do it, for Christ sake. But instead we get a moment here (his stepson was angry at him for walking out), a moment there (his step- daughter is having problems with her boyfriend, who's also a crew member) and then a little seawater and ice. Some cocktail.

These people all talk a blue streak, including Theobald, who, from the first, keeps insisting on how dangerous and frightening the whole trip is/was. And then we get visuals, often accompanied by somewhat dramatic music, that certainly don't show us much about why all this should be so.

From the first, the family and crew set to arguing, tiresomely. After a few minutes we're ready to bail. Then they calm down a bit, but once they find themselves stuck in the ice, they start up all over again, and in the process, bore us silly.

Along the way, we do get an occasional look at some interesting scenery, beautifully photographed, and we also realize that we're indeed going where few others have been. That ought to provide something, but as a filmmaker, Theobald has no idea how to create any real drama. Talking about how frightening something is simply does not make it so.

Off and on, we get some clichés, too: "Mother Nature rules." Yup. We can't disagree with that. When the filmmaker/narrator tells us that the trip has brought the family together so that they have formed a bond, we're glad, but we certainly haven't witnessed it, except in the most rudimentary manner. Once the passage through the Passage has been accomplished, a scene of celebration with a cake is, again, thoroughly undramatic.

This trip may have been useful and good therapy for family members, but it has done bupkis for us. At one point, we are told that the ocean seemed to be saying, "Don't ever come back. You have pressed your luck." Who'd have imagined the ocean would make such a fine film critic?

The Other Side of the Ice, thankfully running just 77 minutes, opens this Friday, March 8, at the Quad Cinema and will appear, one would imagine, eventually on DVD, VOD and/or streaming.