![\"Image](\"https:\/\/filmtalkdotorg.files.wordpress.com\/2019\/09\/de-patrick-kevin-janssens-c-2.jpg?w=750\")
Tim Mielant\u2019s <\/span>Patrick<\/span><\/i>, is nothing short of wonderful, a pleasant and beautifully told story of a nudist man in search of his hammer. Shot in the beautiful Ardennes, much like the region itself, the film is very much so multicultural using Dutch, German, French, and even English throughout the film. Vulnerability and nudity (both literally and figuratively) play pivotal roles in the telling of this story and if shots of naked men running, fighting, or even existing will dilute the sanctity of your virgin eyes then stop reading this review and don\u2019t watch the film because you will not enjoy it. Narratively similar to an all time favorite of mine, <\/span>The Big Lebowski <\/span><\/i>(The Coen Brothers), this noir-esque story takes the search for a stolen hammer and turns it into one of political intrigues with far reaching consequences for our protagonist.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nViewed at the AFI Festival in Hollywood this previous weekend, standout performance from Kevin Janssens (<\/span>Revenge<\/span><\/i>) and the always hilarious Jermaine Clement (<\/span>Flight of the Conchords<\/span><\/i>) drive this satire. Playing a gentle giant, Kevin Janssens humble yet imposing demeanor develops the character as peaceful and naive to the evil around him which will constantly attempt to take advantage of him. Jermaine Clements by contrast, plays the hedonistic rock star seen talking to various nudist women all the while ignoring his girlfriend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The film opens naked, Patrick laying on his back floating in the open waters peacefully and completely vulnerable visually. Patrick is a simple character, he is the campground handyman with an affinity for woodwork. Wood is a central motif within the film not only in the phallic sense, but in the workshop and trees where Patrick is most happy and at peace. All three of these a representative of authenticity and openness, not pretending to be anything other than what you are and that\u2019s extremely indicative of who Patrick is. The catalyst for the story derives from the death of Rudy (Josse de Pauw), Patrick\u2019s father and the owner of the colony, along with the coinciding disappearance of his hammer. Grief and dealing with it is deeply explored via Patrick’s relationship to his father and his hammer and how he compartmentalizes these.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Cinematography, shot by Frank van den Eeden (<\/span>Full Contact<\/span><\/i>), serves to marginalize Patrick’s role within the community and distance him from the people he\u2019s supposed to lead. Seen through mirror reflections, doorways, and windows, Patrick is always on the outside looking into a world of politics, lies, and sex. This world contrast directly with the natural and vulnerable one he had built for himself in the isolated workshop. This perspective begins to shift throughout the film as Patrick begins to stand up for himself. Low angle shots portray him as gigantic, abrasive punching sound effects are much like those of <\/span>Rocky<\/span><\/i> (John Avildsen), and panning shots show him as a man with <\/span>business<\/span><\/i> to take care of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As stated previously, <\/span>Patrick <\/span><\/i>is narratively very much like <\/span>The Big Lebowski<\/span><\/i> in a film noir style to uncover the truth and his missing hammer. <\/span>Patrick<\/span><\/i> can also be viewed as the inverse of Lynne Ramsay\u2019s <\/span>You Were Never Really Here<\/span><\/i>. Both films driven by a hammer, one hammer\u2019s presence is indicative of violence and hate whereas the others absence is indicative of grief and loss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Patrick<\/span><\/i> achieves and excels in delivering everything it sought out to be with beautiful symbolism, brilliant camerawork, and a rock-solid cast. Lovers of non-conventional noir like in <\/span>The Big Lebowski<\/span><\/i> will fall in love with the simple protagonist and his disillusionment with the world around him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Reviewed by Ian Overton. Viewed at the AFI Festival 2019. Tim Mielant\u2019s Patrick, is nothing short of wonderful, a pleasant and beautifully told story of a nudist man in search of his hammer. Shot in the beautiful Ardennes, much like the region itself, the film is very much so multicultural using Dutch, German, French, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":247791,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[369,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-afi-filmfest-2019","category-films"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/247791"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45532"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45639,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45532\/revisions\/45639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentfilmreviews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}