![]() ![]() Sure, she opens Greg’s eyes to this real-life Matrix and another other-worldly locale (that will not be revealed in this review), but Isabel doesn’t truly possess Morpheus’ (Laurence Fishburne) or Trinity’s (Carrie-Anne Moss) steely confidence. She has a curt answer for every question and carries all the warmth and stability of the snide kids in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971). In addition to the environmental grime and more grime, Isabel is strident, harsh, and manic. “Bliss” is a science-fiction picture, but an ugly, haphazard one to stomach. However, Cahill offers a gateway to another place, one of bliss, that exists right where our heroes stand. The local chamber of commerce wants no part of this movie because everything around Greg and Isabel’s immediate present is anything but a paradise. Ambulance sirens, abandoned construction sites, closed-up businesses, graffiti, trash, cheap motels, and smoggy skies dominate the landscape. On this planet, Cahill’s greater Los Angeles is every bit as gloomy as Greg’s office. Writer/director Mike Cahill knows a thing or two about trippy cinema concepts and turn to his “Another Earth” (2012) and “I Origins” (2014) as prime examples. Are you not convinced that Isabel can bend physics in this Matrix-like existence? You soon will be. Cosmic storms don’t suddenly rain down on Los Angeles, but a flick of Isabel’s wrist causes a bar server’s tray full of glasses to swoop out of his hands and crash to the floor. She claims to wield magical powers, and sure enough, before you can say “Yapple Dapple”, Isabel manipulates the space around her. Our hero’s world becomes infinitely rockier when he accidentally causes a freakish mishap at his company and then runs into an urban gypsy named Isabel. Greg’s workplace may not be as cheerless as Joe’s (Tom Hanks) in “Joe versus the Volcano” (1990), a factory of mindless misery, but passions throughout the cubicles run as thin as a Geo Metro’s tire tread after a year-long trek in the Canadian Rockies. Greg Whittle (Owen Wilson) daydreams about a different life, and why not? He works at Technical Difficulties, a call center for customers who have….well, you know, and the office and everyone else are painted in dank, gray hues. “Most people say, ‘Ignorance is bliss.’” – Isabel Clemens (Salma Hayek), “Bliss” (2021) “Ignorance is bliss.” – Cypher (Joe Pantoliano), “The Matrix” (1999) Then, before beginning the restoration work, our experts in film sound had to check that the audio and pictures matched up, to avoid our film restorers spending days scanning the film only to notice Harry Joy (Barry Otto) delivering his final line out of sync in the closing minutes of the film.Wilson and Hayek’s manic journey is anything but ‘Bliss’ Once the appropriate interpositive print had been located, we needed to find the corresponding audio. ![]() It was decided that the 110-minute Australian theatrical version would be restored, as this was the one most positively received in 1985. There were three interpositive versions of Bliss to choose from – the two-hour behemoth that originally screened at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival (prompting many members of the audience to walk out), a shorter theatrical version which was released in Australia to great acclaim later that year and an international cut which screened overseas. An interpositive is a print made from the edited negative and is the next best choice for restoration work. Unable to locate the negative, the NFSA Restores curators went hunting for the interpositive print instead. ![]() In the chaos of making a movie, most filmmakers are too busy worrying about getting their film made, marketed and distributed to be thinking about how it will be preserved decades later. Unfortunately, this isn’t an unusual occurrence. ![]()
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