"Dumont is clearly fascinated by America's wide-open spaces, and much of Twentynine Palms is a love poem to the way we look at the world." - Ed Gonzalez

The line between intense violence and intimate sex has never appeared so blurry before in this clear-sighted examination of a saturated culture. Slowness becomes tedium becomes broodiness, all building up to a conclusion so horrifying it left me with a nightmare several hours later that had me leaping out my bed in a massive sweat and an absolute state of panic.

A really disturbing look at the links between sex and violence, set in the unforgiving Californian desert. The build up is exquisitely paced, establishing a real intimacy between the couple. All the while a sense of menace, slowly and understatedly built by the director, looms until the truly horrifying climax.

Bruno Dumont's brilliant Twentynine Palms is an example of film as sin allegory that quietly speaks volumes. For evidence of its greatness, merely pay witness to its subtly masterful exchange of dialogue over ice cream or simply the shots of the central twosome fighting and fucking over an arid landscape, which by the end come not simply to resemble Antonioni's Zabriskie Point but a walk in the (Punishment) Park.

A movie that sits at the same high school lunchroom table as Gaspar Noe, Hanake and other European directors who think they're a lot more brooding, edgy and creative than they actually are. In truth, 29 Palms is a shallow and manipulative film. It's far too blunt to be saying anything insightful about human nature or relationships, and its violent ending confirms the vacuousness of the film's central message. It's more juvenile than shocking. Oh, and it's fucking boring, too.

I don't know how to say anything dignified about this. Its like Salo (which I liked) mixed with that German hippie left genital crabs allover your couch when you let him stay over for 3 days in the summer. The ending is magnificent for its jolt, and I understand that all the preceding tedium was leading to this, but its a vile and irritating place to spend your time. Fuck off with your movie. Punishment Park, All About My Sister and Salo I think do a better job.

jesus...

Difficult to really rate this. Watched it over four weeks in french. The pool shot is excellent. The ending is kinda out there for me.

This movie will have you believing that we are all teetering on the edge of utter madness and despair.