Beauty Queen, filmed by Jan Bartels, who also co-wrote and produced the short with Sonja Welter, is a hair-raising wild ride. There are no dull moments and there is nothing predictable about this film. Although the title refers to Mary, the film really centers on her husband, Walter. We first meet Walter as he cruises around town in his car taking pictures of young women for unknown reasons while music reminiscent of the Halloween films plays. He sends the pictures off to Mary, who often replies, “No!” It’s a great mystery and we’re not let down by the end. When Walter meets a couple arguing in a parking lot, we learn that Walter is a happy go lucky psycho killer. He carries a hammer and assorted other interments of his trade and uses these to great effect. There is violence and gore in the film, but is, intentionally I believe, more amusing than terrifying or disturbing.
The story really gets going when Mary approves of one of the women Walter has photographed. Walter captures his prey with all the ease of a man who’s done this dozens of times before. Before long, Walter and his victim are en route to meet Mary. She, we soon discover, is just as crazy as he is. She has hallucinatory visions of herself as a beauty queen, despite getting on in years. And when she snaps out of it, she’s angry. But she soon snaps back to being her usual chipper self.
As the pieces start to fall into place, it becomes clear that this film is really about a couple of lunatics who have found each other. Whether they were crazy before they met or if they went down that road together after years of mind0numbing suburban boredom, we never learn. But these two were clearly made for each other. They’re quite content and satisfied with their lives as serial killers. They have friends in the neighborhood, a nice place to live, apparently a decent income, and a pleasant hobby that involves hunting young women. Walter is a devoted husband who hunts women, it seems, mainly to satisfy his wife’s delusions. As an example of the film’s unpredictability, when most films would show the kidnapped victim tied to a chair in a filthy basement, or being tortured in some horrible way, Walter and Mary bring the girl down for a dinner of pasta (with fresh basil, no less!) and a glass of red wine. When a neighbor brings over a cake, it barely phases the crazed couple. The girl, meanwhile, is just as perplexed as the audience about what is happening and what her fate might be.
It’s not clear if Bartels is just trying to tell a rollicking good tale or if he’s trying to make some sort of statement about the pointlessness of suburban existence and the need some have to take up extreme pastimes, but he succeeds in doing both. This is above all a very fun film. We never quite know what’s going to happen next and Walter’s giddiness is infectious. Daniel Baaden does a superb job playing the ever-smiling Walter. Mary, too, played by Sonja Welter, is full of insanity and is quite convincing as the addle-minded wife who swings between anger at her past beauty and her role as good suburban housewife.
This is certainly an indie-film with an indie feel. The cinematography is particularly striking with its unsettling angles; especially the shots where Mary is fantasizing about being a beauty queen winning an award and then trips and falls on the floor. Bartels proclaims on his website that he’s not primarily motivated by making money. He operates the camera himself under the umbrella of Zodiax pictures, and makes films for the sheer joy of showing them to audiences who love independent filmmaking. In fact, Beauty Queen is just one of five films that Bartels has available. Beauty Queen has also made the festival rounds, raking in an impressive three wins and eight official selection titles to date. Beauty Queen is in line with Bartels other films, with themes ranging from robberies gone awry, strange women hitchhikers and female stalkers. I am eagerly awaiting his next effort.
By: Matt Smith
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