Somewhere between Robert Altman’s Images and Robert Eggers’ The Lighthouse lies Mark Jenkin’s Enys Men – an intentionally ambiguous psychological horror about mental illness, past traumas and the handling of grief. I also believe this movie touches on the psychological effects of long-term loneliness and isolation. The story takes place in the early 1970's but the residue of Covid is all over this. If “post-Covid cinema” is a thing then this definitely falls under that label (it was shot during the back end of the first wave of the Covid-19 lockdown).
Enys Men also belongs to the semi-recent “Persona-sploitation” category next to movies like Always Shine, Slow Machine, The Clouds Of Sils Maria and more…
Persona was the first Bergman film I saw. It blew my mind then, and I keep going back to it - Mark Jenkin, Criterion
Persona / Enys Men
I think it’s lazy to write this movie off as simply “pretentious” or “lo-fi horror” (these are things some critics have written about it). I understand not liking something. It’s completely understandable to not like Enys Men. But there’s more to it than just pretentiousness which seems to be the go-to critique when something is slow or doesn’t follow a set rules. Personally, I just find myself drawn to “complicated” movies and Enys Men is certainly that…
On one hand, this is the kind of horror/psychological drama one would expect from Neon studios. The type of horror story made for folks that like to romanticize trauma and connect everything back to grief. If I wasn’t aware that this was a Neon film beforehand I would have assumed it was put out by A24.
There’s a lot of recent talk about the look and overall aesthetics of modern independent cinema and Enys Men is a prime example. It plays right in to that lane of modern horror movies that’s more interested in being mysterious rather than outright terrifying. Instead of quick jolting jump scares we get a lot of slow jump scares (?) if that makes any sense. I can’t quite put in to words - which is hilarious to say within a written piece - but so many movies under the A24 & Neon banners have that same aesthetic/vibe. Men, It Comes At Night, Lamb, Woodstock, Saint Maud, etc etc. Droany music, ambiguous plots, small casts, sometimes-beautifully shot minimalist settings/backdrops, etc.
Images / Enys Men
The Lighthouse / Enys Men
Enys Men is so vague and abstract that it can have an infinite amount of meanings. As the film unfolds we get a series of unreliable edits & flashbacks of some tragedy that took place in the past. Because the “plot” is so evasive I find myself drawn to the imagery more than anything else. And that’s fine. I’m not too caught up in the “meaning” of things. But even with the short 90 minute run time, after a while it feels like this should’ve just been a short film (imagine a 90 minute version of Maya Deren’s Meshes Of The Afternoon).
But…if Enys Men was a short film then we wouldn’t see all of the intentional Deren-esque/Akerman-esque repetition that Jenkin tries to highlight. Throughout most of the movie we see our female protagonist perform the same daily tasks over and over...
Meshes Of The Afternoon / Enys Men
Meshes Of The Afternoon / Enys Men
Meshes Of The Afternoon / Enys Men
Jeanne Dielman... / Enys Men
Jeanne Dielman... / Enys Men
Jeanne Dielman... / Enys Men
In addition to Altman’s Images, Persona, etc, Mark Jenkins takes a few visual cues from Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now. The red coat worn bout the film’s protagonist comes off as an homage…
Don’t Look Now is the obvious choice. Roeg’s influence runs through everything that I’ve done as a filmmaker - Mark Jenkin, Criterion
Don't Look Now / Enys Men
I also love his use of zoom lenses, which informed the way I shot Enys Men - Mark Jenkin, Criterion
Don't Look Now / Enys Men
Don't Look Now / Enys Men
Don't Look Now / Enys Men
Don't Look Now / Enys Men
An entire separate comparative study could be done on Takovsky's influence that flows all throughout the film...
For me, Tarkovsky’s films exist outside of time and space. I can’t imagine how a film like Mirror sat within the cinema of its time - Mark Jenkin, Criterion
The Mirror / Enys Men
The Mirror / Enys Men
Stalker / Enys Men
The Sacrifice / Enys Men
Stalker / Enys Men
Ivan's Childhood / Enys Men
Solaris / Enys Men
The Mirror / Enys Men
We’re only a couple hundred words in to my thoughts and I cant even make it this far without a bunch of comparisons. This could very well be a case of lazy writing/analysis on my part but if you’ve seen Enys Men and are familiar with my reference points thus far – I think you’ll understand where I’m coming from. Before the 10 minute mark you’ll be able to catch every reference I’ve called out and more. But that's part of what draws me in. Anyone familiar with this blog knows I'm a sucker for homages & references and this movie has plenty. Also - Mark Jenkin does not shy away from shouting out his influences (read Mark Jenkin’s criterion picks for a better understanding of how open he is about his influences).
It’s a bit of a cliché, but I tend to connect Bresson, Tarkovsky, and Bergman - Mark Jenkin, Criterion
Persona / The Mirror / 4 Nights Of A Dreamer / Enys Men
L'Atalante / Enys Men
Now…there were reference points I did not catch until reading about the film afterwards which helped me to reappreciate what I had just seen.
I like to normally use a single 26mm lens on a 60mm camera, so the equivalent of a 50mm lens like Ozu or Bresson – Mark Jenkin, Ukfilmreview.co.uk
Woman Of Tokyo / L'Argent / Enys Men
I like the idea of a horror film being influenced by non-horror reference points like Ozu and Bresson…
Early Summer / Enys Men
The opening shot of Enys Men is an homage to a composition of an ATM that appears in L’argent. It’s the kind of thing that no one would ever pick up on but that I know - Mark Jenkin, Criterion
L'Argent / Enys Men
Jenkin instructed his main actors to perform in the deadpan/Bressonian style:
What I try to take from Bresson is his attitude toward performance - Mark Jenkin, Criterion
Pickpocket / Enys Men
I can’t articulate what effect Bresson’s films have on me, that’s the beauty of it – Mark Jenkin, Ukfilmreview.co.uk
Diary Of A Country Priest / Enys Men
Mouchette / Enys Men
L'Argent / Enys Men
And I hate doing this but there are some legitimate Shining comparisons. But it’s not what you’d expect. Instead of creepy children and endless shots of hallways – the film’s use of communicating through transistor radios reminded me of The Shining.
The Shining/ Enys Men
There are some other vague Shining-isms throughout the film...
The Shining / Enys Men
The Shining / Enys Men
With reference points like Akerman, Ozu & Bresson – you can imagine this movie tests the audience’s patience. It didn’t test mine because I like slow movies more and more these days, but I wouldn’t fault anyone for complaining that this was too “slow” or “boring”. But to be fair to the director – this isn’t exactly the kind of movie that someone just blindly watches. Some movies are intentionally alienating and made with an exclusive audience in mind. I think Enys Men is one of those films. If you're a fan of all the movies I namedropped in this review - then perhaps this is something for you to check out.
