The Taking

Out of all the films I saw in the KVIFF this year, The Taking was the one most people walked out of by far. I reckon the first part disappeared after they found out it was a documentary. And the second when it turned out that this documentary wasn't going to be a classic. But for a fan of movies, especially westerns, it's a real treat. Alexandre O. Philippe has already screened his documentary Lynch/Oz about the famous fairy tale and its influence on Hollywood, and he also made a documentary about William Shatner, You Can Call Me Bill. He is long-time filmmaker and The Taking is now three years old, and Philippe has come to Kalový Vary for a series of films in which one of the subjects is the iconic Monument Valley. And that's the subject of The Taking. The desert full of stone titans has become somewhat of a hallmark of westerns and other films, and Philippe tells the story of how this place in the middle of the American wilderness has become an icon that to some extent symbolizes America itself, and not just for filmmakers. How John Ford, Ridley Scott and other greats worked with it and how audiences perceive America itself through their films. Philippe is paying homage to a place we all know from the silver screen, a place that is no longer just a 'pretty location' but something much more. And perhaps something very different than it should be. A wonderful spectacle for film fans. For anyone else, a rather strange and seemingly a bit pointless thing. Fortunately, it's mainly the film fans who come to Vary. (07/03/2024)

After my previous experience with the work of this documentary filmmaker, I expected another informationally exhaustive and intellectually enriching cinephilic documentary treat, and that’s exactly what I got. The theme focusing on the depiction of Monument Valley in cinema may not sound very enticing at first, but in this film it serves only as a starting point for a broader discussion about how westerns (as well as films of other genres, advertisements and paintings) have used panoramas of the famous rock formations to create a false myth that has overlaid the visual and historical reality of the American West with a more romantic and highly misleading image. The Taking is rich in interpretations and philosophical analyses. Using multiple experts as narrators and with precise editing, it thoroughly analyses each rock and its appearance in a number of works ranging from silent to animated movies, and boldly  refers to, among other things, the injustices perpetrated against the Navajo tribe, within whose territory Monument Valley officially falls, and to John Ford’s long-term collaboration with John Wayne. The film is thus also an impressive and attractive overview of Hollywood westerns, especially Ford’s work, which is worth knowing at least a little in advance for context. (06/29/2024)

Alexandre O. Philippe delivers another sharply focused and information- and opinion-packed cinephile documentary, this time examining the depiction of Arizona's breathtaking Monument Valley in cinema and especially in the works of western great John Ford. While The Taking is noticeably shorter than the director's other recent efforts, he has once again managed to fill the film with so much interesting information that he has truly created a comprehensive essay around one of America's most iconic natural beauties often captured on film. [KVIFF 2024] (07/03/2024)