Film ReviewsWildlike: alaska-filmed prepares for national release
Sep 24, 2015 Anchorage Press
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Director Frank Hall Green is no stranger to Alaska. He was captivated by the wondrous wilderness and the Vermeer skies during his multiple visits to Denali and other parts of the state. As many travelers know, wandering into the Arctic version of Thoreau's Walden is as much about the great outdoors as it is about exploring one's tumultuous inner-self. It was no surprise that when Green wrote Wildlike, Alaska was the natural backdrop for the story about becoming and restoring trust in the world after schlepping through physical and emotional shit.
Wildlike first played in Anchorage at last year's Anchorage International Film Festival. After making the festival circuit, the film will now open nationwide at selected theaters, starting the last week of September and will be followed by On-Demand and DVD availability.
The casting for Wildlike is superb, staring with the main protagonist, Mackenzie played by Ella Purnell. Wildlike is about Mackenzie's story, which speaks volumes and reflects a harsh reality for 20,000,000 women and 1,800,000 adolescents who are victims of sexual crimes in the U.S. Mackenzie is a 14-year-old young girl who is sent to live with her uncle while her mother completes treatment in Seattle. Brian Geraghty plays the creepy Uncle in Juneau. Green sets up the predatory dynamic from the get- go so what follows is no surprise. However, it's Mackenzie's journey to safety that is the core of the film, and through which the director explores human nature. In an interview with the Press, Green made it clear it was important to be truthful about encounters of this type in order to address the social issues and taboos about sexual crimes. Seventy-five percent of sexual crimes against women are done by known perpetrators, and only 30 percent of sexual crimes are reported to authorities. Wildlike does an amazing job of untangling the emotional and social aspects of why these stats are true. As the film reveals through Mackenzie's struggle to return home while not severing ties with creepy uncle and putting herself at even greater risk, it's all very complicated.
As the story unfolds against the uncompromised beauty of Alaska, Mackenzie runs into an older and rugged hiker named Rene Bartlett or "Bart" (Bruce Greenwood) and imprints on him like a baby duck. As their paths continue to intersect and the open wilderness brings them together, their respective stories are revealed and with that come truths and discoveries about the kind of people they are. The cause for Mackenzie's flight is persistent throughout the journey, even as far away as Denali; it drives the plot but it is slowly overshadowed by the triumph that comes when human beings are there for one another. Wildlike provides a hopeful glimpse at the joy that anyone can have when discovering his or herself, especially in the great outdoors. Purnell is genuinely curious about her character and the experience. Viewers will undoubtedly enjoy the scene that features Joe Boxer, a resident bear at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, and the actors' awe at facing him. According to Green, the sequence was shot using fish and hot dogs to entice Joe Boxer to the scene, but the decision to stand on two legs was entirely the bear's.
Wildlike is a love letter to Alaska, which is beautifully captured in 35mm in miraculously good weather in the summer of 2012. The pristine cinematography captures the glaciers' blues and deep crevasses, the rolling tundra and wide skies and leads viewers through a rich aesthetic experience. According to Green, the five-week shoot took the crew from Denali, down the road system through Palmer and the Mat-Su glacier, Whittier, then on the Alaska Marine Highway System to Juneau. The production used as many local services and employees as possible, which constituted about half of the work. Wildlike would not have been possible without the State of Alaska film tax credit program. The film credit program, which came into effect in 2008, was a way to encourage the development of the film industry in Alaska but it was repealed in June of this year. Green lamented the end of the program because as he said, this type of tax incentive is not just about the bottom line, it helps support the art and creative industries without having to expend resources outward in the form of grants or direct cash. Green expressed interest in shooting in Alaska but this may be unlikely without tax incentives.
Wildlike is a strong film that takes its time building the story and exploring the outdoors as well as the protagonists' internal conflict and subsequent character development. The different reasons that bring Mackenzie and Bart into the wilderness are never quite resolved, somethings simply can't be; but what can be done to " live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life " is done-and all at the foot of The High One.
Wildlike returns to the screen in Alaska Mon. Sept. 28 - Weds. Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. at Bear Tooth.
Wildlike first played in Anchorage at last year's Anchorage International Film Festival. After making the festival circuit, the film will now open nationwide at selected theaters, starting the last week of September and will be followed by On-Demand and DVD availability.
The casting for Wildlike is superb, staring with the main protagonist, Mackenzie played by Ella Purnell. Wildlike is about Mackenzie's story, which speaks volumes and reflects a harsh reality for 20,000,000 women and 1,800,000 adolescents who are victims of sexual crimes in the U.S. Mackenzie is a 14-year-old young girl who is sent to live with her uncle while her mother completes treatment in Seattle. Brian Geraghty plays the creepy Uncle in Juneau. Green sets up the predatory dynamic from the get- go so what follows is no surprise. However, it's Mackenzie's journey to safety that is the core of the film, and through which the director explores human nature. In an interview with the Press, Green made it clear it was important to be truthful about encounters of this type in order to address the social issues and taboos about sexual crimes. Seventy-five percent of sexual crimes against women are done by known perpetrators, and only 30 percent of sexual crimes are reported to authorities. Wildlike does an amazing job of untangling the emotional and social aspects of why these stats are true. As the film reveals through Mackenzie's struggle to return home while not severing ties with creepy uncle and putting herself at even greater risk, it's all very complicated.
As the story unfolds against the uncompromised beauty of Alaska, Mackenzie runs into an older and rugged hiker named Rene Bartlett or "Bart" (Bruce Greenwood) and imprints on him like a baby duck. As their paths continue to intersect and the open wilderness brings them together, their respective stories are revealed and with that come truths and discoveries about the kind of people they are. The cause for Mackenzie's flight is persistent throughout the journey, even as far away as Denali; it drives the plot but it is slowly overshadowed by the triumph that comes when human beings are there for one another. Wildlike provides a hopeful glimpse at the joy that anyone can have when discovering his or herself, especially in the great outdoors. Purnell is genuinely curious about her character and the experience. Viewers will undoubtedly enjoy the scene that features Joe Boxer, a resident bear at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, and the actors' awe at facing him. According to Green, the sequence was shot using fish and hot dogs to entice Joe Boxer to the scene, but the decision to stand on two legs was entirely the bear's.
Wildlike is a love letter to Alaska, which is beautifully captured in 35mm in miraculously good weather in the summer of 2012. The pristine cinematography captures the glaciers' blues and deep crevasses, the rolling tundra and wide skies and leads viewers through a rich aesthetic experience. According to Green, the five-week shoot took the crew from Denali, down the road system through Palmer and the Mat-Su glacier, Whittier, then on the Alaska Marine Highway System to Juneau. The production used as many local services and employees as possible, which constituted about half of the work. Wildlike would not have been possible without the State of Alaska film tax credit program. The film credit program, which came into effect in 2008, was a way to encourage the development of the film industry in Alaska but it was repealed in June of this year. Green lamented the end of the program because as he said, this type of tax incentive is not just about the bottom line, it helps support the art and creative industries without having to expend resources outward in the form of grants or direct cash. Green expressed interest in shooting in Alaska but this may be unlikely without tax incentives.
Wildlike is a strong film that takes its time building the story and exploring the outdoors as well as the protagonists' internal conflict and subsequent character development. The different reasons that bring Mackenzie and Bart into the wilderness are never quite resolved, somethings simply can't be; but what can be done to " live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life " is done-and all at the foot of The High One.
Wildlike returns to the screen in Alaska Mon. Sept. 28 - Weds. Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. at Bear Tooth.