BIRTH (2004) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Jonathan Glazer

Written by - Jean-Claude Carriére, Milo Addica, Jonathan Glazer

Starring - Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Danny Huston, Anne Heche

"Jonathan Glazer gives a campy horror premise a European sophisticated makeover. Birth is a supernatural thriller with a final twist about a kid who relentlessly tells a widow he is the reincarnation of her dead husband Sean. 

The director concentrates on the build up of a tense and psychologically compelling aura through the use of long unbroken shots, unfomfortable close ups, an unrushed pace, fluid and confident cinematography as well as a graceful art direction. 

The film was sadly overlooked, perhaps because it was marketed for the average horror film audience. Yet, Birth is an arthouse take on familiar gimmicks that flirt with the supernatural. It also features a solid performance by Nicole Kidman, and her vulnerability at the face of this random comeuppance in her life leaves her tragically compelled and almost speechless as well as unable to react with rationality."

Thriller, USA/Germany