Splendid Isolation

Well, Splendid Isolation is sure the most arthouse apocalypse I’ve ever seen.

Hannah and Anna live on an isolated beach. We’re in some sort of post-apocalypse scenario though the specifics are unclear. What is clear is that Hannah and Anna are alone, save for the occasional threatening drone. The two women make a life for themselves and seem to find beauty in their isolated, outdoor location. But Hannah’s psyche is a little fragile. Moreover, the two are forced to isolate from one another after Hannah contracts a concerning disease. Perhaps this is related to a third woman who Hannah claims she’s seen on the beach? A woman Anna claims is surely just a figment of Hannah’s imagination.

Splendid Isolation is a deeply Covid-ass movie. With themes of apocalypse, disease, and isolation, the pandemic clearly inspired pretty much everything going on in the film. What is curious to me is that for all of these common plot points, Splendid Isolation has a different approach. Most Covid movies I’ve seen clearly show the maker going a little stir crazy during the lockdown. Despite the fact that Splendid Isolation has that as a character theme, it’s not true of the movie itself. Splendid Isolation takes its time, embraces subtlty and also clearly finds a lot of beauty in the location it’s set in. For all that the film is bleak and eerie, this attitude and focus on truly beautiful shots gives it all a sense of hope.

The visuals are overwhelmingly the strongest part of the movie. Partially because they genuinely are that good and partially because other elements of the film are nothing to write home about. This is the second film from director Urszula Antoniak that I’ve seen. Her first, Nude Area was also visually beautiful and featured literally no dialogue. Splendid Isolation doesn’t go that extreme, but a pattern had already emerged with Antoniak. This woman does not like dialogue. Her cinematic interest seems wholly visual. And she’s damn good at it. That being said, I still can’t claim that the screenplay for Splendid Isolation is particularly strong. It’s very bare bones and often intentionally oblique.

The minimalism of the story and dialogue does make this not exactly the most interesting or gripping film. Especially as an apocalypse narrative. Even when events do happen, they seemed not to make total sense and I often felt like I’d missed something. Again, the film is beautiful and unique enough that this is a personal gripe for sure. I think Splendid Isolation turned out exactly how Antoniak wanted and she explained shit exactly as much as she felt like doing. It’s probably a good thing I have questions. That means I was engaged as an audience and that the film offered me things to chew on. That being said, I spent much of this movie wondering about what was going on in the rest of the world. Or sometimes, wondering how this same story would play out with different directors or writers.

Splendid Isolation is some sort of ambient apocalypse. I’m not entirely sure I’m on board with that as a mood. But I still respect this film’s uniqueness, intent and especially its incredibly strong visuals. I could imagine seeing this film projected on a wall at an art museum without sound and being captivated it for a good five minutes. That’s a bit of a backhanded compliment but truly, story comes pretty secondary to visuals and overall vibes in Antoniak’s Splendid Isolation.

Overall rating: 5.6/10

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