Review by Peter Syslo
THE WEDDING PARTY (2005 Germany) is another DVD release from TLA Releasing, under the Danger After Dark label (www.tlareleasing.com). Technically, this is not a horror film, in the traditional sense; it is, however, a very good thriller/drama that contains hints of a western and a black comedy. To be honest, I feel that I am becoming a film expatriate; lately, I have been watching a lot of international films in order to catch my "horror buzz". I'm not trying to be an arrogant "foreign film buff" or an "if it's not indie it's crap" kind of guy, but lately (especially this past year), the U.S. has had little to offer in the horror realm (except for a few instances in the micro-budget, "truly-independent", or literary areas). For my money, France is where horror currently resides. INSIDE was the best horror film that I have seen this past year and it is one of the best horror films of this decade - be lieve me, it lives up to the hype and it breathes new life into the slasher sub-genre. Also, FRONTIERS and (of course) HIGH TENSION attest to the fact that the French are doing some great things with horror (even as far back as THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF). But, let me get back to THE WEDDING PARTY, which is from Germany. I just wanted to give my spiel about some of the great things that are happening in the foreign film industry - and a cool company like TLA makes foreign films accessible, for the horror fan.
THE WEDDING PARTY is directed by Dominique Deruddere and it is actually based upon a comic book called, "Lune de Guerre". The film stars Armin Rohde, Uwe Ochsenknecht, Arne Lenk, Josef Heynert, Imogen Kogge, and Julia Schmidt. The DVD features include: anamorphic widescreen, 5.1 Dolby digital sound, and English subtitles.
The film is about a wedding reception gone bad. After a couple is married, they and their families go to a countryside inn/chateau for the reception. The groom's father is a type-A personality who seems like a "questionable" businessman. After the groom's father presents the owner of the inn with an offer to buy him out, things quickly go downhill. The groom's father makes a scene and complains about the quality of the meal. After an argument, everyone in the wedding party leaves, due to the forcefulness of the groom's father. Here's the catch: the bride and the groom's mother were in the bathroom as everyone left. The inn owner, who wants payment for the food and services, locks the two in the bathroom and closes the gate behind the last of the cars, in the wedding party. After realizing this, the groom's father goes ballistic, arms his sons and family members, and a standoff ensues. In the extreme situation, it is a tense build-up to see w ho will give-in first - will it be the inn owner or the groom's father?
Quite simply, THE WEDDING PARTY was very good. It was beautifully filmed, with the stately and gentle atmosphere of the German countryside, and the performances were great, all-around. Rohde, as the groom's father, was a joy to watch. He played an entitled jerk who just wanted to get his own way, but he remained charismatic despite all of the commotion. Also, there was an interwoven story about father-son relationships which he brought out with subtle and not-so-subtle behavior towards his newly married son. The inn owner (Ochsenknecht) was also a great actor who played the perfect, cool-headed and composed adversary to the groom's father. Like I said, it is like a western with the standoff between the two - however, good and evil are not so clearly defined and that makes this film all the better. Also, that blurring of good/evil heightens the tension, throughout. The groom's father has this unpredictable "volatility" where you are not sure what he is capable of doing. Conversely, the inn owner is more of a level-headed, logical kind of guy who "scares" himself through his seemingly irrational actions - it gets to the point where you wonder, "how far is this going to go? It is so out-of-hand, already".
Gnawing through the flesh: THE WEDDING PARTY is a very engaging film (no wedding pun intended) and it is a good choice if you are looking for something "different" to watch. The film does slow down a bit, about ¾ of the way through, and at that point you are hoping that the standoff progresses. But, the performances and the gorgeous setting help to keep up the energy and the ending is pretty satisfying, in an anti-climactic way. The film isn't a blood-laden shoot-out, as the DVD cover/advertising would suggest, but it does have that western brand of "just" violence which is a good fit for the film (it is more of an intellectual than a visceral story). As I mentioned before, there is a very subtle (very, very subtle) aspect of black humor which is exemplified by the character interaction and the sharp script - basically, the whole situation can be humorous and satirical, due to the way that things spiral out of control, for no good reason. Ye s, ugly human nature is at the core of the film, but it is not that dark as you would think. I give THE WEDDING PARTY an 8/10.