Review Fantaspoa 2021: DETENTION – The Horrors of Military Dictatorship
Our Fantaspoa 2021 coverage continues! As I turn down Caetano Veloso and turn up Sepultura, I am saddened that I’m about to “leave” this legendary Brazilian festival. But, all is not lost. Indeed, I’ve found myself in a film! Not literally, but certainly artistically. I’m sadly more familiar than I’d like with dictatorships. I was raised in Paraguay. You know, a former dictatorship. So, Detention hits home. Let’s travel to Taiwan for this one. Just be careful with what you read.
The Perils of Thinking
Ignorance is indeed bliss. At least, if you live in a despot’s playhouse. Detention revolves around this concept. Set in 1962 Taiwan, the film takes place in a military school (as they all were back then). A group of teachers and students gather in hiding, studying forbiddent texts. But these are not Satanic rituals. Their transgression is much more earthly than that. They study the works of philosphers, poets, free-thinkers. The most dangerous kinds of texts, in the eyes of opressors. They would almost prefer them to be Satanic rituals instead.
The deaths of some within the group is quickly evident. After this brief introduction, we spend the remainder of the movie unravelling how they perished, and why. It’s a convoluted story at times. The confusion is made worse by the regrettably lax translation on my screener copy. But no amount of technical faux pas can detract from the impact contained within Detention.
Ghosts of the Past Haunt Us All
I love a film which uses allegory to make its point. That’s why I love The Babadook, and why I’m so sad people misunderstand it so much. Therefore, when I walk into a film and its antagonist is a personified version of an intangible thing, I like it. A lot. In The Babadook, it was depression. In the case of Detention, is the oppression of a military despot upon his people. It is as haunting as it is beautiful. True poetry put to film.
The CGI is also, surprisingly good. Considering I was recently disappointed by the computer graphics on The Unholy, a big-budget Hollywood film, I was grateful to see how good the monster in Detention looked. The work of Ray Harryhausen it isn’t, but for those who don’t mind digital effects, they really punch well above their budget.
Detention: More Than The Bottom Line
What about the rest of the film, then? Truthfully, it holds up rather well. The music is fantastic. The performances, despite coming from a mostly young cast, are immaculate. The secondary themes of marital abuse, obsessive teenage infatuation and family honor are intricately explored. Perhaps, a bit too much so, as parts of the film drag on a bit.
Detention is based on a video game, and it isn’t the first, or last, adaptation of this source material. There’s currently a miniseries on Netflix which is, reportedly, quite good. But I do believe that the highly militaristic nature of the film’s antagonist serves its plot points really rather well. It’s probably the best video game film ever made.
Is it perfect? Far from it. But I found it to be a beautiful, and beautifully dark, portrayal of the perils of succumbing to the whims of a despot. And a fantastic allegory to illustrate the true price of freedom.
Detention is part of Fantaspoa, which runs for free on the streaming platform Darkflix, from April 9th through the 18th. All film screenings are geo-blocked to Brazil, with additional details available at www.fantaspoa.com.
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Detention - Part of Our Fantaspoa 2021 Coverage
Summary
Detention is a terrifying, beautiful look at the perils of living under a despot’s thumb. Teenage love, family affairs, marital abuse.
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