House of Voices (Saint Ange)

When a theatrical film comes to a video format like DVD and the name is changed it is usually not a good sign. Sometimes it’s done when a foreign film comes to the States, the new name reflecting something more appealing to an American audience. Other times it seems it is just to give a new boost to a film that did not meet expectations under the original moniker. Unfortunately, it appears the later holds true for House of Voices, previously known as Saint Ange. While it certain fits the category of the foreign film rename the title does hope to convey a spookier ambience to the film in its American DVD incarnation. The film opens in an orphanage set in a lonely countryside, most likely in France. Two children, apparently brother and sister awake to go to the restroom. The girl is afraid to be by herself, she requests her brother stay. He brings to try all the water taps hoping to find one that works. He notes that ‘they’ like to play with the facets. The children leave only to have the boy return to investigate some noise. He climbs a tub to look into a mirror, lightning crashes and he falls to his death. The scene shifts to more modern times where a young woman Anna Jurin (Virginie Ledoyen) is hired by the administrator of the dilapidated orphanage Francard (Catriona MacColl) to help clean the place up prior to selling the run down building. All of the remaining children are being bussed out as Anna arrives leaving only her, the cook Helenka (Dorina Lazar) and a strange teenaged girl Judith (Lou Doillon) behind. As one little girl is leaving the home she whispers to Anna a warning about the scary children that are left behind. Things are fairly normal albeit a bit dank for Anna as she begins to settle in to her new routine. Slowly we discover a few facts about Anna; she binds her stomach to hide her growing pregnancy. When she is injured in the same washroom as previously seen Helenka discovers the condition along with scars of abuse on Anna’s back. As Anna explores the grounds she finds boxes containing the records of children brought to the orphanage just after World War Two. The stern Francard returns to pick up some personal effects sees Anna poking around and admonishes her to not bring up the past. Many of the children brought to the home were damned, beyond any hope. Even though Anna’s condition is now known by all she is in such denial that she continues to bund herself. She begins to hear voices in the night, voices that Judith hears in her sleep but unheard by Helenka. Slowly the scary children make themselves more overtly known to Anna, much to her complete dismay.

This is a strange little film. Now strange is not necessarily a bad thing but here it just doesn’t seem to click at too many levels. The exposition unfolds slowly; again, something completely within the parameters of the genre, but there is too much disconnection between the past and present. It is obvious from the start that this orphanage is some sort of damned place, the children sent there lost and adrift but a few more intermittent shocks to keep the audience on the edge of their seats would have helped a lot. Too many of the scary moments are telegraphed to the point where you can see it coming, not great for a flick intended to scary you. There are hints that are more subtle than necessary. I’m usually a big fan of subtle its just here a little more overt direction for the audience would have added a lot to the continuity.

Virginie Ledoyen does as well as possible with so little to work with. She is best known for her role opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the lamented ‘The Beach’. Ledoyen has an innate sense for this role but falls short of getting her character fully fleshed out. She plays her role as Anna with some ambiguity, at some points she seems to want the baby but then she goes and punches herself in the stomach later listening to see if any harm was done. It is also odd that she still goes through the almost ritualistic binding of her abdomen to conceal a pregnancy that everyone, even the very unbalanced Judith, knows about. She may be beautiful but Ledoyen needs some help in finding roles to help her expand her talent. I do have to note that Lou Doillon nails the role of Judith. She has the kind of eyes that just look like they belong to someone that is seriously unbalanced. With her angular features she keeps the audience nicely off center every time she has screen time. Dorina Lazar also does well playing the Slavic cook, Helenka. She can balance an ample, older woman as comfort giver with one that wants everything in its place. Her main function in this film is to not hear the spooky noises that are so apparent to Anna.

Pascal Laugier has potential as a director but just missed the mark here. The pacing, as noted, allows time for the exposition to unfold but for a horror flick there should be a little more in the ways of thrills along the way. He is a very stylistic director, many of the shots are beautiful to look at but only add a little to the overall feel of the movie. There are just too many art school shots in the film, beautiful but not really contributing to the movement of the story.

Universal usually does very well bring any film to DVD but I think there was not a lot to work with here. The 2.35:1 anamorphic video was free of defects or any discernable artifacts but it appears that the director chose a muted color palette that fails to provide a true balance. Too many details are lost in the softer focus of the video. The audio is presented in Dolby 5.1 and is better than many flicks. The sub woofer comes to life not only for the shock moments but also in use by the musical score to underline the emotion of the scene. There is a making of feature that is typical and a few deleted scenes for the extras. In all this is a flick that some beer and pizza may help on a dark and dismal night.

Posted 10/22/05