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21 reviews in total |
Slow-paced, mysterious and ultimately engrossing
Author: A.N.17 October 2004
Without giving too much away, this is an intellectual road trip movie with a documentary atmosphere in many scenes. It is somewhat muddled for the first 15 minutes, but then you can really get into it (if you're ever going to). It relies on atmosphere more than plot, but it did have a clear meaning to me. Overall it's fairly sobering and I can't say it will leave you happy.
I didn't see this as a "hippie" film, rather a commentary on the human condition. One oddity was the interspersing of French subtitled dialog with segments of non-dubbed English. The scenery was very lush and I don't think a second of the film was shot in a studio.
People who didn't like this are probably in the short-attention-span crowd. I don't think this film has anything to do with being a Floyd fan. The music is mostly in the background and doesn't quite fit what you're watching anyway. Any number of low-key instrumental soundtracks may have made more sense. It really doesn't need music at all, except for the tribal chants. Only a few songs from the Floyd CD were apparent, but I know why they called the album "Obscured By Clouds."
*
I saw this film at the Plaza in New York City around 1981. I went to hear the Floyd music but I quickly became so engrossed that I forgot about the music. Determined to travel to the mysterious valley that is always obscured from the air by clouds, a group of Caucasians cross New Guinea. They meet isolated tribes (NOT African - this is New Guinea, remember), experience love and loss, discover themselves, etc. And I thought the ending was wonderful. A little Easy Rider, a little Sorcerer, a lot of atmosphere and style. Naturalist-docu-fiction. Unique and unforgettable.
*
I would bet that most of the people who seek out this film are either Schroeder compilists or Pink Floyd fans. The film follows the odyssey of a bored rich girl who goes looking for rare feathers in a "Mystical" jungle that is covered in clouds. The full title is "The Valley Obscured By Clouds" and the soundtrack(Obscured By Clouds)was Pink Floyd's last soundtrack right before they made "Dark Side of The Moon".
The film contains some generous sex scenes,some nudity and a Pig slaughtering scene that might not appeal to timid viewers but it does have a neat soundtrack and some different versions of Floyd songs can be heard here,if only in snippets. Although it gets a good rating,Schroeder and Floyd fans might be better off with "More" another Schroeder film with a more complete soundtrack.
*
Author: tim-297 from Lexington, KY
26 July 2000This is a very interesting, but (unfortunately) underrated, film from the hippie era of the late 60's-early 70's that would make a great addition to any collector of this genre of film. Along with Schroeder's "More", Max Steuer's "The Committee", Roy Battersby's "The Body", Antonioni's "Zabriskie Point", and George Greenough's surfing documentary "Crystal Voyager", any fan of the music of early Pink Floyd should add this to their collection -- if they can find a copy. Unfortunately it is out of print...again. All 6 of these films *should* be released on DVD. Let's hope the distributors will realize the market potential.
*
Author: Quag7 from Tucson, AZ
16 April 2005
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
You know, I actually liked this movie. I wouldn't ever have heard of it were it not for Pink Floyd's soundtrack (I imagine I am in good company here).This is not an edge-of-your-seat blockbuster. It is a deliberately slow, quiet, meditative film which at times almost hovers on the edge of being an anthropology documentary. I found the transformation of the main character's intentions and mindset from aristocratic, spoiled, and modern, to something decidedly in the opposite direction fairly interesting. The radical transformation of this principal character, is what pulls the plot (what there is of it) along.
People have accused this film of being dated; perhaps it is, or perhaps it's just that less and less people question their civilization-programmed mindset as much. (Or maybe it's just dated, you decide. The question is whether merely questioning some of the things the characters here do makes this dated. The long hair and the dope and so forth, is to me, incidental, but I think you could make the case that this is just a little too "far out, man.") The film is about this woman's change as they search for an uncharted valley, which is a sort of stand-in for the Garden of Eden; a place of reputed paradise from which none return. As they make their way deeper and deeper into the wilds of New Guinea, they slowly slough off their psychological and philosophical predispositions, preparing spiritually for what awaits. They encounter corruption and violence, and experience mankind living in a much more primitive mode (through their experiences with the natives).
This film requires patience, though this is mitigated somewhat by the beautiful scenery and bits and pieces of Pink Floyd throughout (including an extra verse of Free Four, go figure.) Zabriskie Point and More are movies which require serious gritted-teeth endurance in places (both are deeply flawed to the point of annoyance). Not so here. At least, not for me. I think there's more relevant to our modern condition here than may be immediately apparent. If these characters seem like old relics, that says more about where we are now, than the film itself.
(*** Possibly a SPOILER here. Though I doubt IT MATTERS AT ALL. ***)
And I really liked the ending. The story ends with a question mark, but frankly, if I were writing or directing this movie, I'd end it the same way. I think the ending scene is beautifully shot, in the fog, with Pink Floyd's music punctuating the film before the credits roll. I found this not at all dissatisfying, and I commend the filmmakers for resisting the temptation to follow the characters into the valley itself .
(...)
I'd recommend this even if Pink Floyd didn't do the soundtrack, but only to certain people. And frankly, I don't think it makes you shallow if you find this a little too slow and abstract for your tastes. I think you can make a fair case against this film without being a philistine; it is not for everyone, not even for all serious cinephiles, or even all the completely wasted out there (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE.) For others who like atmospherics and haunting imagery, and can deal with an extremely anemic plot (which was, as I said, clearly deliberate, and commensurate with the general sense of the film), it's definitely worth a watch. A pleasant surprise, especially after sitting through "More."
*
Author: Bribaba from United Kingdom
19 August 2012
Barbet Schroeder is in danger of becoming a legend in his own lifetime. From this rather beautiful hippie opus, to Single White Female and more recently, an episode of Mad Men, this is a man with no respect for boundaries. The main character in this 1971 film is Vivian (Bulle Ogier), a collector of rare feathers which she sells in a posh boutique. While on holiday in New Guinea she joins a hippie expedition, hoping to add more fluff to her collection. She's the wife of a diplomat, bourgeois, liberal and a 'sport' as she puts it. The primary aim of the trek is to locate a (possibly mythical) paradisaical valley way over yonder, kind of like Richard's pursuit of the perfect beach in the Alex Garland novel, but with a more metaphysical bent.It's the journey not the arrival that grabs and cameraman Nestor Almendros, whose credits include Malick's Days of Heaven, really comes to the fore as his images compensate for any narrative slack. Eventually the group encounter the isolated but photogenic Magupa tribe, just about to start an incredible festival - cue more stunning images.
That's about as dramatic as it gets - there's no manufactured events, just the group interacting with the natives and each other. For Vivian the journey becomes a voyage of self-discovery aided by some local hallucinogenics, though her newly-found freedom is tested both physically and philosophically by her lover as they approach their destination. By this time dialogue is sparse as the film slips into National Geographic mode. But it's Ogier who really keeps things together here, offering a riveting portrayal of a woman in transition. There's some discourse on the relative merits of the contrasting civilisations, and questions which throw doubt on the hippies belief in the superiority of the 'natural' way of life. Pink Floyd contribute the soundtrack (Obscured by Clouds) but its barely audible aside from the closing credits.
*
Author: Neal Wells from Kirkland, WA US
20 July 2005
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
I liked 'La Vallée' because it made me ask fundamental questions about my own journey. The central character Viviane (Bulle Ogier) begins with one search and ends with another. The other characters Olivier, Gaetan, Monique, and Hermine each have their own journeys that weave stories of personal transformation around each other in pursuit of spiritual ideals. The open nature of the ending alludes to every person's image of the unknown.I had the soundtrack album (Obscured By Clouds) in the early 70's and was intrigued by the cover. Now, many years later, I've visited and experienced a little of Polynesian culture for myself, and find that the essential questions about how to reconcile western and indigenous culture are still just as powerful as those played out in the movie.
I see the scene just before the final ascent to 'the valley' as the core dialog, namely, can we step inside the world of ancestors and taboos, or are we merely tourists on our own journeys? Can we return with knowledge to paradise, or must we, as Oliver says, 'take a second bite of the apple'to move forward? Can we reinvent ourselves, or are we bound in our world views by jealousy, phobia, hormones, and social convention? I think Schroeder is expressing this dialog within himself against the backdrop of the Mapuga.Barbet Schroeder's second feature film shares some of the same shortcomings with his first film 'More'. The editing is at times abrupt, and some scenes seem to evaporate into dead-ends with no plot development. Nevertheless, I admire his willingness to make this film in New Guinea. It must have been very progressive for its time.
*
The Valley is not for everyone's taste but is still worth a look. Sometimes looking like a cross between Jimi Hendrix's Rainbow Bridge and National Geographic, the Valley pretty much centers on the same themes of the former although it exhibits a much more lucid character development, not to mention poetic discourse. The Valley brings up many ideas of its era: free love, mind expanding drugs, psychedelic music, and ontological excursions. However, the foremost point seems to be a clash between the first and last cited, and sometimes presented sporadically.
The film follows a girl who latches on to group of hippies on an expedition for the `Valley obscured by Clouds.' Her primary motive is to collect rare feathers for her husband in France, but she inevitably falls in love with two of the hippies. Amongst their infidelities and hypocrisies, the group manages to find aid with a friendly New Guinea native tribe who slaughter pigs and perform ritualistic dances. Finally, the group makes their way back on the path, but do they?
Although somewhat slow at moments (i.e., the group's interaction with a peaceful African tribe) the Valley primarily has a steady pace; however, this minor flaw is (!) obscured by the beautiful cinematography and scenery. I enjoyed a large percentage of this film (especially the incidental music composed by Pink Floyd) but the ending a bit abrupt, a quality that may upset some viewers wanting more. Nevertheless, the Valley is still a great film with a beautiful story and beautiful images.
Note: about the music, if you're looking for another Pink Floyd album in this movie, forget it! As mentioned above, it's purely incidental and few of the Floyd's songs are in this film. Go buy the complete soundtrack in the stores.
*
Author: KDCarson from United States
14 October 2007
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
***Contains Spoilers*** Some people who watch this film my not like it if they did not live through the Hippie subculture as I did. This film is a celebration of the free love and drop out mentality that many hippies craved. Also, there is free use of drugs along with some mild sex throughout the film. A young woman of the classic middle class comes into contact with some French versions of hippies while shopping for feathers in New Guinea hinterland. They go on a journey of sexual and cultural discovery among the primitive tribesmen of the region. The young lady is slowly freed from the mentality of restrictiveness to a sexually liberated and open state of mind. The film progresses slowly to the eventual discovery of "The Valley", their own hope of a Shangri-La.
There the film ends abruptly leaving the viewer to supply his own ending to the story. This movie is about hippies on drugs and was meant to be viewed by hippies on drugs. In our new world of anti-drug mentality it may sound horrid to suggest that, but we must be charitable and remember that the film world of the late 60's and 70's was very liberal on those issues by our standards. This is a very good and enjoyable erotic film about freedom and that is how it should be relished.But then again, maybe a bunch of stoned people without a clue got together and decided to make a movie, and this was the result.
