인피니트 스톰 Infinite Storm, 2022

[석수]

INFINITE STORM (R, 105 min)

Director: Malgorzata Szumowksa
Stars: Naomi Watts, Billy Howle, Denis O'Hare
Based on the thrilling true survival story.


As an experienced climber (Naomi Watts) ascends New Hampshire’s Mt. Washington, a huge blizzard approaches, forcing her to turn back before reaching the summit. On her way down she encounters a lone, stranded man, taking it upon herself to get them both down the mountain before they succumb to the storm and nightfall.
Reviews:


"Visually splendid...an impressive outdoor adventure." - Variety
"A daring and memorable depiction of compassion and resilience." - Los Angeles Times
"Arresting and unpredictable." - The Wrap




Awesome acting, direction, writing, edition, photography

Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2022

Beautiful movie worth watching and/or buying.

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"Even in the storm, even in the pain and the wind, there is so much beauty. The whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty".
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So true. At least to those who can see it or want to.


I liked Ms. Watts here a lot. Was a great casting decision. She brought the awesome strength of the real life Pam Bales to the screen. She looked very comfortable in her role. But the revelation for me was Billy Howle (John). His performance felt so incredibly authentic, that I couldn't see the actor or the real person behind the role.

The direction by Mrs. Szumowska was sensible in many aspects. Even in the absolute silent moments, a lot is told. The pace-tempo was comfortable without lacking intensity and realism. Hence, great edition. I liked the fact that the reasons for the characters' pains was left to be shown at the end. Smart move, because very early in the movie the questions come up.

Last but not least, the photography. The scenery and the time span on screen to show them, went like a gently, persuasive speech for our natural wonders. An example of the productions you can make without investing billions.

PS- My only disenchantment was the fake snow in the scene in the hole after Pam's fall.




https://youtu.be/unlQKT7q0Wg?si=Mlcchodd-Y5bIboW

 "고통과 바람 속에서도 정말 아름다운 게 많아요.
이 우주는 무한한 아름다움의 폭풍처럼 보인답니다."
Even in pain and wind, there are so many beautiful things.
The universe looks like a storm of infinite beauty."




Pam: Anyway, it's cheaper than therapy and the mountains always listen; they never talk back.


There’s a quote that appears in the film at one point that simply states,

“it only takes one person to change someone’s life.”

No truer words could be spoken to fully encapsulate what INFINITE STORM is communicating. We should all be so lucky if we can say we’ve had the same happen to us.




“A must-see for those with a strong connection to the outdoors and fans of grade-A character studies,” says film reviewer Anderson Templeton of “Infinite Storm,” starring Naomi Watts, and directed by Malgorzata Szumowska. (BLEECKER STREET FILMS)


Just want to give a big shout-out to "Infinite Storm.”

Unfortunately, this remarkable little movie stopped screening at the Petaluma Cinemas right after I saw it (it deserved more than a week, but at least it’s still on screens at Rohnert Park’s Reading Cinemas).



This surprising gem of a film was made by Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska (“Never Gonna Snow Again”), a filmmaker who is clearly deeply passionate about nature.

In short, "Infinite Storm” is a beautiful indie-style survival drama, based on the true story of Pam Bales, a single search-and-rescue expert, played spectacularly by Naomi Watts, who is determined to save a lost, half-frozen hiker, and herself, long after he's given up the will to live.

The film takes its name from a John Muir quote, "The universe is an infinite storm of beauty.”
A must-see for those with a strong connection to the outdoors and fans of grade-A character studies, beautifully blending both harrowing action sequences and questions of why is life worth living. It will leave you deeply emotionally satisfied, and perhaps a tiny bit exhausted. This is one of the best movies of 2022 so far.







From this point on, it’s a constant game of push and pull, as Pam relentlessly encourages, carries, drags, and at times, strong arms John into making it down the mountain. Her mission has suddenly changed from one exclusively centered on her own survival, to one that ensures she does not give up on John, despite his numerous attempts to surrender to the elements.


At times, it feels as though she’s a harried mom chasing after an unruly toddler, as John makes every attempt to force their already grueling predicament to be even more troublesome. He does have moments of lucidity, however, and in those times, the two have opportunities to bond and connect.



In both cases, it is very easy to care about these characters and their plight. The pacing moves along with a steady clip that, combined with the endless turmoil Pam and John go through, leaves the viewer in a state of heart-pounding breathlessness. Beneath the surface of it all lies a deeper message of loss, grief, and finding your sense of purpose when all hope is lost.


There’s a quote that appears in the film at one point that simply states, “it only takes one person to change someone’s life.” No truer words could be spoken to fully encapsulate what INFINITE STORM is communicating. We should all be so lucky if we can say we’ve had the same happen to us.





Naomi Watts has had a penchant for highly physical roles unusual among female stars not particularly associated with action movies. It made her acrobatics the most special effect amidst so many CG wonders in Peter Jackson’s “King Kong,” and a vividly plausible victim of grueling crises in films like “Funny Games” and “The Impossible.” Of course, one can always get too much of a good thing, as when recent, regrettable “The Desperate Hour” seemed to reduce the hot-button topic of school shootings to a gimmicky “Watch this fearless actress run the gamut of emotions while JOGGING!”

Fortunately, there is nothing gratuitous about the physicality demanded of Watts by “Infinite Storm,” which is based on a real-life incident that took place in New Hampshire’s White Mountains a dozen years ago. Visually splendid, Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska’s second English-language feature (following 2019’s “The Other Lamb”) is an impressive outdoor adventure ideally suited to the more athletic side of its star’s skill set, even if it’s not quite so rewarding in terms of emotional involvement—we feel more exasperation than inspiration at watching our heroine struggle to rescue an uncooperative manbaby from the peril he’s put himself (and her) in. Bleecker Street is releasing the international co-production to U.S. theaters on March 25.



While she grumbles at getting out of bed before dawn one November morning, we quickly realize from her gear and meticulous preparation that Pam Bales (Watts) is no casual day-hiker. Setting out to climb Mount Washington on a date of personal remembrance, undaunted by ominous weather reports or snow already on the ground, she’s well-prepared for any emergency. Still, hours later she is jarred to hear a human cry near the summit in blizzardy conditions, then appalled to detect tracks indicating someone traipsed this far on footwear no sturdier than sneakers.



“Infinite Storm” briefly looks like it will turn into a much colder, gender-flipped “127 Hours,” as Pam suffers a mishap that for a few minutes consumes all of her attention. Once extricated, however, she continues searching, soon duly finding the very inaptly dressed younger man she dubs John (Billy Howle) half-frozen and semi-conscious on an exposed peak. How or why he got there is a mystery for the time being. Regardless, he must be gotten back down the mountain before nightfall, when the temperature will steeply drop even further.


The good news is that Pam (who’s a nurse) has ample emergency medical as well as wilderness rescue training. The bad news is that rescuing “John” is like minding a six-foot toddler who occasionally turns into deadweight. His behavior is so irrational, she questions whether he’s on drugs. Even when he’s not falling off precipices or into bodies of water by accident, he’s frequently running off or refusing to budge in a stubborn sulk. Not only does he incur injuries that hobble their progress, he often seems resentful at being rescued at all.



We eventually learn the cause for his underlying despair, even as scattered flashbacks finally explain the longterm mourning that led Pam to this remote place today as well. But while there’s some poignancy to these late revelations, most of “Infinite Storm” is a bit hogtied in terms of viewer empathy, because “John” (the real-life rescuee never did reveal his name) doesn’t make it easy for us, let alone for his dogged savior. Joshua Rollins’ script is effective in limiting itself almost exclusively to the 24 hours or so in which these events unfold. Still, that also results in a certain narrowness of character dimension, despite the very game lead performances.



But If it falls a bit short as human drama, however, Szumowska’s latest — a 180-degree turn from her last, the excellent Polish allegorical tale “Never Gonna Snow Again” — is fully satisfying as an appreciation of Nature as magnificent adversary. Allowing for quibbles with the Slovenian Alps as a convincing stand-in for New England’s White Mountains, “Storm” is both scenically spectacular and convincingly rugged in atmosphere. Once again there’s superb work from Michal Englert, the director’s longtime collaborator as cinematographer (and sometime co-writer).


Though the storytelling scale is much less epic, his widescreen imagery renders landscape and the elements just as imposingly beautiful as in something like “The Revenant,” making Nature a driving narrative force rather than mere backdrop.