Review of The Intruder

The Intruder (2004)
5/10
A bit too far over most of our heads
9 May 2006
Well shucks, I tried to like it, and at least I succeeded in not hating it and in getting something out of it (whereas several walked out of the theater during the "festival" screening that I attended). That said, filmmaker Claire Denis clearly wasn't willing to meet me halfway. This film is clearly inaccessible by design. Not only do you not quite know what things mean, you don't even know why things are happening or even what is happening. In fact, you're not even sure what thematic ballpark we're supposed to be in. Entire sequences and characters are introduced with no rhyme or reason. And while there are plenty of films I've seen lately that have similar obstacles to enjoyment, there is often enough beauty or artfulness that those concerns don't ruin the experience. Denis, however, prefers to assail the viewer with images that fail to even appeal to the viewer in any aesthetically comprehensible manner. I'm not saying it's crap. I'm just saying it's not for me, or for most people, and that there's nothing wrong with that.
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