Bosque de toro negro: Toro Negro State Forest | Discover Puerto Rico
Bosque Toro Negro – Orocovis
El bosque Toro Negro se extiende dentro de los municipios de Jayuya, Ponce, Orocovis, Villalba, Juana Díaz y Ciales. La mayor parte del mismo se encuentra en los municipios de Ponce y Jayuya. Sin embargo, las instalaciones, veredas y área de acampar están ubicadas en la zona de Orocovis.
El área de acampar es administrado por Amigos del Bosque, Inc.
Precio:
$20.00 por caseta, por noche (máximo de 6 personas por caseta)
Reglas principales:
- Está prohibido poner música (aun si son los únicos acampando)
- No se permiten bebidas alcoholicas
- No se perminten mascotas
haz clic aquí para más detalles sobre las reglas
Los violadores de estas reglas se le podrá negar el permiso acampar, pedir que abandonen el lugar y se les podrá negar futuro acceso al área.
Teléfonos:
787.
244.0768 Yamil Castellano
787.612.1598 Enid Baez
787.210.4480 Carmen Laboy
ATRACTIVOS E INSTALACIONES:
Areas para pasadía: La ruta #6 (Camino La Piscina) cuenta con muchos gazebos con facilidad de BBQ.
Sistema de veredas (caminos): El mapa de las veredas lo puedes ver al fondo de esta página o lo puedes obtener en la oficina del bosque. PERO, tengan en cuenta que el mismo no está actualizado y muestra algunos caminos que no existen o no están para el uso del público en general. Vea abajo la sección COMENTARIOS SOBRE RUTAS.
Para las caminatas no se requiere permiso ni hay algún costo. Si es un grupo de 10 personas o más se requiere coordinar con la oficina al igual que si es un grupo educativo, ecoturístico o de investigación al 787.999.2200 ext. 5613.
Torre de Observación: (Vea abajo la sección
COMENTARIOS SOBRE RUTAS
)
Piscina de Doña Juana: Actualmente el área de la piscina está siendo remodelada y queda en la vereda #6.
Esta vereda es muy popular por sus charcos y porque cuenta con un estacionamiento al lado de la calle.
* Advertencia: Es aconsejable que si vas un día en semana uses el estacionamiento de la oficina, la cual queda muy cerca, para evitar algún daño a tu auto.
CONDUCTA
El propósito principal del bosque de Toro Negro es proteger y preservar los recursos naturales. Se le pide a los visitantes el RESPETO al bosque y a las especies que allí viven.
– Absténgase de poner la música muy alta mientras pasa por el bosque.
– No tire basura fuera de los contenedores disponibles.
– Está prohibido el uso de alcohol en el área de la oficina y área de acampar.
– Prohibido el uso de caballos en cualquier área del bosque.
~
OFICINA
Teléfono: 787.867.3040
Horario: Lunes a Viernes 7:30am – 4:00pm
(este es el horario de la oficina; las áreas de las veredas están disponibles los 7 días)
El área de acampar quedará abierta para recibir acampadores o sus representantes con el debido permiso, todos los días de 12:30 a 5:00 p.
m. Luego de esta hora no se recibirán acampadores en las áreas así designadas. Hora de salida para los acampadores es 12:30 pm. Los lunes, las facilidades serán cerradas al público para mantenimiento. En caso de que el lunes sea día feriado, las facilidades permanecerán abiertas al público y serán cerradas el martes inmediato para mantenimiento. Después de las 5:00 p.m. no se permitirá personas o vehículo alguno dentro de las áreas y facilidades recreativas, exceptuándose las áreas de acampar.
RESPONSABILIDAD DE LOS ACAMPADORES Y VISITANTES
1. Se prohíbe el expendio, posesión, distribución o CONSUMO DE BEBIDAS ALCOHOLICAS dentro de las áreas recreativas y de acampar.
2. Se prohíbe DETERMINANTEMENTE el uso de aparatos reproductores de sonido y/o MUSICA, que perturben al público en general, así como la fauna del lugar. Estas en el bosque, conéctate y escucha los sonidos de la naturaleza y el bosque.
3. Queda prohibido el uso de generadores de electricidad en áreas recreativas y de acampar.
4. Se prohíbe introducir o permitir que se introduzcan o permanezcan todo tipo de animales domésticos o salvajes en las áreas recreativas y de acampar, con excepción de perros guías que acompañen a los no-videntes.
5. Se prohíbe encender fuego fuera de los sitios provistos para ello, lanzar o deshacerse de cualquier articulo encendido en los terrenos de las áreas naturales
6. Los usuarios de áreas recreativas y de acampar deberán mantenerse dentro de las veredas establecidas para el disfrute de los recursos naturales allí presentes o aquellas áreas autorizadas en el permiso concedido.
7. Los acampadores deberán poseer un equipo básico de primeros auxilios.
8. Se prohíbe estacionar vehículos en forma tal que obstruyan el uso de los caminos y demás facilidades recreativas y de acampar.
9. Se prohíbe escribir, pintar, marcar, rayar, mutilar, dañar, destruir o alterar cualquiera de las facilidades recreativas y de acampar.
10. Se prohíbe alterar, remover o dañar las señales y rótulos que se fijasen o instalarán por el Departamento, o por cualquier otra agencia gubernamental con autoridad para hacerlo.
11. Se prohíbe remover o trasladar las mesas, bancos y demás facilidades fuera del sitio donde estén enclavadas o localizadas en el área de acampar o recreativa a cualquier otro sitio distinto.
12. Se prohíbe encender fuego fuera de los sitios provistos para ello, lanzar o deshacerse de cualquier artículo encendido en los terrenos de las áreas naturales.
13. Se prohíbe instalar hamacas.
ESTACIONAMIENTO / PLANIFICACION
Si no estás familiarizado con esta área, la planificación podría ser un poco confusa.
Area de la piscina Doña Juana:
(NOTA: Tengan en cuenta que esta área se le conoce así pero que la piscina como tal está fuera de funcionamiento y siendo reconstruida).
Mucha gente para en el área de la ruta hacia la piscina por la comodidad del estacionamiento, los charcos, gazebos, caminos, etc.
Si vienes del norte o del este (Matrullas, Barranquitas, Coamo, Mirador, etc.) la encontrarás primero que la oficina y vice versa. Si tu visita solo consistirá del uso esta área, puedes estacionarte allí, aunque se recomienda que si visitarás durante la semana te estaciones en la oficina por cuestiones de seguridad.
Otros caminos y área de acampar: Si tu visita es relacionada a información, caminatas en general o acampar, sería mejor estacionarse en la oficina.
COMENTARIOS SOBRE RUTAS
[Al final de esta página está el mapa que se provee en la oficina de información]
Torre de Observación: Se llega por el camino #1 (El Bolo) o la vereda #6 (La Piscina). Estas conectan arriba con la vereda #3 (La Torre).
* IMPORTANTE: Algunas personas se han perdido (yo fui uno de ellos) al tratar de regresar a la oficina ya que toman de regreso la carretera 563 la cual está conectada con el camino #1 (El Bolo).
Por esto da la impresión de que esta carretera conduce a la oficina cuando en realidad la misma va en dirección opuesta. La carretera 563 va hacia Villalba.
Caminos “Las Cuarentas” (5) y “Doña Petra” (9): Hay un error en el mapa que es muy importante saber si tomaras algunos de estos caminos. Según el mapa hay un tercer camino, sin nombre, que une a estos dos (ver imagen de corrección al final de esta página). Ese camino sería ideal especialmente si tomas primero el camino #5 y de regreso a la oficina quieres tomar un atajo. Pero este camino no existe, dejándote como opciones regresar por la carretera o volver a caminar todo el camino #5 el cual es bastante largo. Regresar por la carretera es muy mala idea y algo peligroso por el poco espacio en las orillas para peatones. En otras palabras, si vas a usar el camino #5 ten en mente que tendrás que regresar el mismo o simplemente llega hasta un punto medio y regresa desde ahí.
Aquí la corrección (del área del error en el mapa):
Bosque Toro Negro: un lugar para conectar y hacer comunidad
Además de un importante ecosistema puertorriqueño, el Bosque Estatal Toro Negro es el lugar ideal para conectarse con la naturaleza, conocer diversidad de especies y, ante todo, divertirse.
Ubicado en 8,203 cuerdas de terreno entre Orocovis, Jayuya, Ponce, Juana Díaz y Ciales, este lugar cuenta con un sistema de veredas de 18 kilómetros, torre de observación, recursos arqueológicos e históricos, gazebos, barbacoas, baños y estacionamiento.
Actualmente, la organización sin fines de lucro Amigos del Bosque Toro Negro comaneja el lugar junto al Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA). Su misión es servir de modelo de desarrollo socioeconómico comunitario sostenible, conservando de manera responsable los recursos naturales y culturales del bosque.
Este grupo ha diseñado una serie de actividades que se pueden realizar, entre las que se encuentran yoga con maestros especializados, terapias y baños forestales para conectar los cinco sentidos con el bosque. También es idóneo para el senderismo, observación de aves, fotografiar y bañarse en el río.
Uno de los lugares emblemáticos es, sin duda, la torre de observación, que con sus 3,500 pies sobre el nivel del mar es la más alta de Puerto Rico.
El bosque se puede visitar por cuenta propia, pues hay rótulos y un mapa disponible para consulta. En este caso, la entrada es libre de costo.
Bosque Estatal Toro Negro. (Suministrada)
Además, Amigos del Bosque Toro Negro ofrece recorridos guiados de tres a cuatro horas de duración, por cita previa. En ruta hacia la torre de observación, las guías hablan sobre la historia del bosque, su flora y fauna. Para hacer cita, puede llamar al 787-210-5618 o 787-612-1598. El costo es $10.00 los adultos y $8.00 los niños.
El bosque está abierto de martes a domingo, de 9:00 a.m. a 5:00 p.m., y la entrada ubica en el kilómetro 32.1 de la carretera PR-143 en el barrio Ala de la Piedra en Orocovis.
En el lugar también hay área de acampar, que está cerrada por disposición de la orden ejecutiva para el manejo de la pandemia de coronavirus. Asimismo, la piscina no está en uso porque requiere mantenimiento y están en la búsqueda de dinero para ello.
Bosque Estatal Toro Negro.
(Suministrada)
Adopta un gazebo
Una de las actividades más recientes para insertar a la comunidad en el manejo del bosque es apadrinar uno de los 20 gazebos (14 gazebos en las inmediaciones de la piscina y seis en el área de acampar).
Las personas interesadas deberán comunicarse con la organización para hacerse disponibles y se les asignará un gazebo, el cual deberán mantener limpio y arreglado.
Valor ecológico sin igual
El Bosque Estatal Toro Negro es uno de los 21 bosques públicos del sistema de bosques de Puerto Rico. Está clasificado en dos zonas de vida: 31% de bosque muy húmedo subtropical y 69% de bosque muy húmedo montaña abajo.
Según el DRNA, tiene nueve ríos, 160 especies arbóreas en 53 familias y se han reportado 30 especies de aves. Además, se han documentado 20 especies de reptiles, como el lagartijo gigante, la boa de Puerto Rico y la culebra ciega.
What’s in the Movies: Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway vs Children
“Difficult Grandpa”
Photo: kinopoisk.
ru
Robert De Niro plays a pensioner whose daughter (Uma Thurman) takes to live with her. The grandfather is dissatisfied with this circumstance, and even more dissatisfied with his young grandson, who has to vacate his room and move to the attic. The grandson declares war on the grandfather, and they begin to intrigue each other. But in the end, of course, they reconcile and get closer. The plot, in fact, serves as a pretext for unfolding a frantic buffoonery: children and old people – in addition to De Niro, there are also Christopher Walken and Cheech Marin – amusingly fall down, get balls on the head and between the legs, Rob Riggle as son-in-law screams at the sight of genitals father-in-law, someone gets a cake in the face. Foolish, but in its own way even a sweet entertainment for a not too demanding viewer.
“Witches”
Photo: kinopoisk.ru
Robert Zemeckis, Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón are revising Roald Dahl’s fairy tale about witches who hate children.
The fairy tale in the course of the revision, of course, is updated: in the main roles – blacks, on the wall – a portrait of Martin Luther King, black lives – matter. Hot fans of the previous film adaptation, by the authorship of Nicholas Roeg, are indignant, but in general everything is not so bad. At least when Anne Hathaway is on screen. In addition to her, to be honest, there is no one and nothing to look at, but this is enough – she is so incomparable. True, unfortunately, half of her efforts are spoiled by dubbing, which does not allow enjoying the absolutely incredible accent invented by Hathaway for her image. At least listen to the original trailer, it’s worth it. (Review)
“Daddy’s daughter”
Photo: kinopoisk.ru
A single father, a widower, every evening tells his daughter stories of his own composition. But the daughter is growing up, and she no longer needs fairy tales, but she needs a boy from the class. Because of what the father and his alter ego suffer – a handsome prince from those very fairy tales who lives in a magical land along with other characters, and this world is something like a film studio with constant staff turnover: the characters gradually become secondary and literally disappear, going to Oblivion.
What actually happens to the prince.
By all accounts, this story should have been a Pixar cartoon, grossing hundreds of millions at the box office and winning an Oscar, but something obviously went wrong and it became a Michel Hazanavicius film with Omar Sy. In principle, it’s also not bad, but somehow it’s not that without a jumping light bulb at the beginning and big-eyed animated models.
“The Game of Death”
Photo: kinopoisk.ru
Several teenagers find a board game where they have to kill 24 people or their heads will explode. And they start. Here. Such a splatter version of “Jumanji” for three kopecks: blood, brains, someone was run over by a car in half, the intestines were smeared along the way, the head makes “bdysch!” At the same time, it looks stylish, puffy, it seems that there is even some kind of social commentary, it’s not for nothing that they rolled around the festivals. If not for the pandemic, of course, it would be unlikely that this film – 2017, for a minute, the year of release – would have ended up in our wide distribution.
So connoisseurs, don’t miss out.
“Wasteland of Darkness and Evil”
Photo: kinopoisk.ru
A mystical horror film by Brian Bertino, who previously made a very nice and original monster movie “Monsters Exist”. A brother and sister visit a Texas farm to help their mother care for their dying father. The mother strongly advises them to get out, and then (allegedly) retires to the barn. It turns out that for some reason (maybe he loves nature, the devil knows) the devil himself has chosen the farm, and he will terrorize everyone who is there in different ways. She flips the switch at night, calls on the phone, turns into a dead mother and other people. And all this, of course, is creepy and interesting, the atmosphere there, the suspense, the figures in the doorways, the dead levitate, but in general it doesn’t lead to anything and nowhere. Except, perhaps, the conclusion that the devil is evil and should be feared.
“Outlaw”
Photo: kinopoisk.ru
The so-called “Russian answer to Gaspard Noe” (another one) finally got, to the considerable surprise of numerous skeptics, to a wide release.
Debutante Ksenia Ratushnaya made a screaming – even yelling – provocative movie, putting a lot of effort into making the provocation a success. And not taking care of everything else. But in provocation here – yes, there is no lack of any, rather – quite the opposite. The creator of “Outlaw” noticeably overdid it, stuffing as much as possible spicy, outrageous, defiant and grotesque into her work. The main storylines, if they can be called that at all, boil down to the following. The girl with her friends “allows herself everything” (this is a quote, and it must be understood as literally as possible), for which she pays to her “master” from the power department with animal submission. A high school student falls in love with a goofy friend and masturbates in his bathtub photo. A Soviet general (part of the action takes place in the eighties) invites his officer-in-law to have an affair with a dancer, and he eventually falls in love with a transvestite. Deliberately vulgar glamor obtrusively contrasts with the space of gray panels, someone with unconvincing fun is simply killed in a shabby supermarket, everyone around – including the priest, such originality – indulges in vice with their last strength, from time to time mentions of either Nabokov or de Sade (no, seriously).
In general, complete “freedom”, which is proposed to be seen at its very limit. Only with such, to put it mildly, one-sided optics, it is quite difficult to open someone’s eyes, or at least just tell something new. Outlaw doesn’t tell.
“How Nadya went for vodka”
Photo: youtube.com
Two sisters live in the dacha, they are scared and lonely there, the dacha needs to be repaired, so the younger one drags a man into the house. To which they are further glued. And the peasant has a wife, and he calls her none other than Dog. He hates because, and there is a reason, but he does not dare to leave, he suffers. Why does he drink.
A small film performance obtained even less from a film play by attaching a continuation to it. Stylization of Chekhov, Russian melancholy, Russian death (that, by the way, was the name of the smaller film performance), the Russian end of the world, the wonderful roles of Yevgeny Tsyganov and Yana Troyanova. Modest, but very nice. (Review)
“Night Escort”
Photo: kinopoisk.
ru
A French drama about police officers who have to escort an illegal Tajik to the airport, from where the unfortunate man must be sent home. Nothing good awaits the poor fellow at home: being an oppositionist to the harsh Tajik regime, he was subjected to torture, from which he escaped. At least that’s what he says himself. This did not convince the hard-hearted French judge, and now the trinity in blue uniforms is taking the Central Asian guest to the Charles de Gaulle airport. One of them is pregnant from the second. This second one is a Negro joker (he is still played by the same Omar Sy, and we should say thanks to the localizers who did not name the film, originally called Police, somehow like “3 + 1”). And the third is just a dull, gloomy and irritable type. The woman puts forward the idea of letting go of the ward and thus saving. The uninvited father of her child is inclined to support the adventure (“in everything” – guess where everything goes for these two). The third one – not unreasonably, but very sluggishly resists the altruism of sentimental colleagues.
The script tries its best to appear deep and the characters interesting, for which some scenes are even shown several times – as if through the eyes of different characters. It’s of little use, because the script remains straight and flat, and the characters are boring features.
“Dragon Master”
Photo: kinopoisk.ru
The pragmatic Germans decided to properly parasitize on the success of the wonderful Dreamworks trilogy, which they do not hide at all: a hefty reference to “How to Train Your Dragon” is found in the plot itself and affects the plot. And he is next: a young and very good-natured scaly creature, along with his upright and rodent-like girlfriend, goes in search of a mythical dragon paradise on earth. Along the way, in the city, the dragon meets a rogue and a petty thief, who, for the sake of fleeting profit, is, in fact, the Dragon Master. And he agrees to help the fairy creatures with the search. And as a result, imagine, it turns out to be the real Dragon Master – the chosen companion of the winged reptiles from some kind of prophecy.
In parallel with the mission of the company, they have to overcome the super-ancient super-evil super-dragon, whose henchmen are angular gnomes, similar to units from the third “Warcraft”. The graphics (and everything else) here are not very pretentious at all. Well, the level of the Hollywood original can not be taken from anywhere. And to scold the “Lord”, in general, there is nothing.
“Deeper!”
Photo: kinopoisk.ru
One of the most controversial domestic films of this year can still be seen in the cinema. It was shot by Mikhail Segal, who has a number of quite noteworthy works in his filmography (here, in particular, we wrote about his “Elephants can play football”). “Deeper!” clearly conceived as an opus magnum director – at least for the next few years. A bunch of young fashion stars – Alexander Pal, Lyubov Aksyonova, Semyon Treskunov, Anton Lapenko and so on – with the support of Sergey Burunov, Igor Vernik, Igor Ugolnikov and others. A string of relevant and transparent to caricature parodies, references (including to oneself) and Easter eggs.
You will not find so many sarcastic comments on various elements of the current agenda even in the last few novels by Pelevin and Prokhanov. Segal, telling the story of a theater director who, out of hopelessness, turned into a director of porn, frankly foolishly, sometimes – discouragingly thick, sometimes – extremely witty, hits all targets in a row with demonstrative and, perhaps, not quite sincere good-naturedness. And behind this phantasmagoric fireworks, the main goal is lost, for the sake of which all this, it would seem, should have been started. Although closer to the final credits, the feeling grows stronger that there was none at all.
“The Shining”
An inexhaustible source of inspiration and quotes for several generations of horror makers (and a headache for Stephen King). Or simply – one of the best horror films in history (someone will say – the best, and how many hunters can challenge this?). A recognized masterpiece of the great Stanley Kubrick, stepping far beyond the boundaries of a genre that has since changed forever.
What other recommendations are needed here?
Also on the screens: Widow – Russian “Blair Witch”; French crime comedy with Isabelle Huppert “The Godmother” ; UK production “Uncle Vanya” with Toby Jones and Richard Armitage; Madame Perfumer – another French comedy; nature documentary US “Alone with Nature” .
Film Black Orchid (Germany, USA, France, 2006) watch online – Afisha-Kino
Film
The Black Dahlia, Germany, USA, France, 2006
6.1
5.6
1/20
In late 1940s Angeles, a police officer (Hartnett), secretly in love with his best friend’s (Eckhart) girlfriend (Johansson), investigates the brutal murder of a would-be actress (Kirshner), while having an affair with a lesbian from a good family (Swank).
Brian De Palma’s adaptation of James Ellroy’s neo-noir. A little confusing, but most of the time somehow incredibly cool.
Countrymanism, USA, France
Genreriller, Drama
DireERBERIAN de Palma
Duration 2 minutes
Date of exit15 2006
Date of exit in Russia November 19, 200005 9000
2006
Josh Hartnett
6.1
Black Orchid
2006
Scarlett Johansson
6.1
Black Orchid
2006
Hilary Swank
Also starring Aaron Eckhart, Mia Kirshner, Mike Starr, Fiona Shaw, Rachel Miner, Rose McGowan, John Kavanagh
Movies directed by Brian De Palma
20
movies Brian De Palma 28
American director, the second incarnation of Hitchcock in the cinema. A great artist who experiments with the same interest both with form (see the rock version of The Phantom of the Opera – The Phantom of Paradise) and with content (see The Black Orchid, in which the first and second planes are rearranged from the very beginning ).
A cinephile who relies on optical tricks, as in his probably most perfect film “Puncture”, already at the level of the title (“Blow Out”) is a paraphrase of Antonioniev’s “Blow Up” – “Blow Up”. Over a long career, DePalma has directed with equal skill both horror films (Carrie, Fury), gangster dramas (Scarface, The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way), and notorious commercial hits (Mission: Impossible “). For the past few years, he has been in a severe creative crisis, but all the same, cinema remains his main and last passion, so he does not hesitate to give his films the appropriate names (see the critically scolded “Passion”).
Person with Shram
1983, Drama
Untented
1987, Historical
Mission Impossible
1996, Action
Carrie
1976, thriller
9000 Thriller
Snake Eyes
1998, Mystery
Carlito’s Way
1993, Thriller
Razor
1980, Thriller
Ghost574, comedy
Military losses
1989, biography
Power body
1984, mystic
Fatal woman
2002, Detective
Fury
1978, thriller
2007, Drama
9000
1976, Mystery
The Raising of Cain
1992, Thriller
Passion
2012, Detective
Bonfire of the Vanities
19
4 Mission to Mars
2000, Fiction
Reviews “Poster” for the film “Black Orchida”
Roman Volobuev
535 Reviews, 587 assessments, rating 11366
7
in a friend Angeles, Captain Lee Blanchard (Eckhart) knocked out Patrolman Bucky Blachert (Hartnett) in front of his teeth.
Bucky, however, did not hold a grudge against Lee: he then put his entire quarterly salary against himself and, at the cost of a ruined smile, was able to put his dad in a decent almshouse. Subsequently, Lee and Bucky became so friendly that Kei, Lee’s girlfriend (Johansson), sometimes mistakenly kissed the other instead of one – and Lee, although he noticed this, did not show it. Then, when Bucky and Lee were together on a mission, Lee shouted “crouch” just in time – after that, it would be completely impolite for Bucky to remember about the knocked out teeth; and in order to somehow respond to the looks that Kay threw at him – this was out of the question. By a strange coincidence, at the moment when Lee was saving Bucky from a bullet, a dozen steps from the place where it happened, Elizabeth Short (Kirshner), a 22-year-old dreamer from Massachusetts, was found: someone gutted her and cut her mouth from the ear to the ear.
The real Betty Short, killed in January 1947 and posthumously renamed Black Dahlia by reporters for the sake of red words (the Russian translator of the novel of the same name will make her an Orchid for the same reasons), died so beautifully and senselessly that add violins here – and you can put The 11th track on the famous Nick Cave album.
Or number 31 in the filmography of Brian De Palma, which is basically the same thing. Now, in general, it seems that everyone who, for more than 60 years, had anything to do with that story – from the direct dismemberment of citizen Short to her canonizer, the writer Ellroy (and in between these two there are still a lot of people – investigators, reporters, archivists) – they all worked with one goal: so that the deceased Betty, about whom it is only known for certain that she loved to lie and dreamed of acting in films, would eventually meet with an artist who could fully share both of her passions. I met literally: in the film, De Palma himself, hiding behind the camera, asks the aspiring actress to portray sadness and is terribly angry when she fails. The screen test then turns out to be material evidence – one of the two that the investigation has at its disposal. The second piece of evidence is a reel of black-and-white lesbian porn, and if you’re struggling not to smile right now, then we’re feeling pretty much the same thing about director De Palma.
“Orchid” is like a meeting with a madman dear to your heart, whose madness and complexes have fatally, but at the same time, charmingly aggravated during the time you did not see each other. You can not look at it, but consider it – as a herbarium in which the author is flattened before us with all his amazing petals and pistils – starting with his deeply pathological relationship with Hitchcock (based on the tragicomic circumstance that De Palma has been filming all the same films for half a century, like Hitchcock, but better, and he still hasn’t been recognized as a genius) and ending with some deeply personal obsessions, the nature of which I don’t want to think about at all: blood, sharp corners, women doubling with some kind of ungodly, but very in a beautiful way. If anyone didn’t know, De Palma has been in a severe crisis for 15 years already and comes out to people only to defiantly flop into a puddle, but the splash he makes when falling looks more and more exciting every time.
His failures are not just more interesting than the creative victories of other authors in the forensic sense – for some reason, normal human joy from them is also much greater.
The new De Palma at first glance seems to be quite a formal thing – a slightly more voluminous version of some “Sin City”, noir for the sake of noir. The heroes move against their will along the routes invented for them, a man does not take off his hat even in bed with a woman, and the choice between a blonde and a brunette is tightly rhymed with a choice between life and death. And all this would have been a completely heartless scheme, if it weren’t for a strange optical failure, recorded more by the subconscious than by the eye – a constant feeling that the camera (cameraman – Vilmos Zsigmond, with whom De Palma did Obsession, ambitions”) all the way he deliberately looks not quite in the right place.
In fact, exactly the way it is. De Palma, following Hitchcock, who always relied on optical tricks, here does something completely suicidal: he swaps the first and second plans from the very beginning.
The people on whom we watch the entire film (besides the trio of Eckhart-Johansson-Hartnett there is also the wildly overacting and completely irresistible Swank) are, in fact, deeply secondary characters, the heroes of the episode. The main character appears for a matter of minutes – she is locked in a black-and-white screen test, from where, with eyes full of tears, she watches how her death is being investigated. This strange situation – fake people are unsuccessfully looking for the killer of the only living creature in their entire swooning celluloid world – apparently, extremely accurately reflects the situation in the head of the director De Palma, for whom the cinema has always been like vodka – for the writer V. Erofeev: fate, death and all. Who killed? And so you killed. Do not be offended, we want you well; but why are you, you fool, pressing the suitcase to your heart?
Unlike his peers – Scorsese, Spielberg, Coppola – 66-year-old De Palma has not yet received and is unlikely to ever receive a classic certificate.
His films do not make money, few people want to delve into his games, criticism treats him not as an artist, but as a patient (there is, for example, a fascinating American study that interprets all his work based on the fact that he, as a child, stuck behind the fridge). Paulina Cale, who has always covered him in film studies, has been dead for 5 years – so let me. “Orchid” is perhaps a completely wrong film: it has a mess with dramaturgy, does not care about living characters, it’s a pity for a roll of film, and the author shamelessly manipulates the evidence and at the end hangs the murder almost on the butler (well, almost). But when a rogue director asks Betty Short to show sadness from behind the scenes, and she smiles in response, her forced smile is the movie – all that is left of it.
September 18, 2006
Best reviews of the film “The Black Orchid” His Scarface and The Untouchables are beloved by millions of viewers around the world. Personally, I expected almost the same success from the film “Black Dahlia”.
Moreover, there is everything here: an interesting plot, charismatic actors, good cameramen and De Palma’s talent. But, alas, something did not grow together. Although it was interesting to watch what was happening, speculate and make assumptions, the tape did not make a splash.
To be honest, I still can’t pinpoint exactly what disappointed me and didn’t like it so much. Whether this is a matter of denouement, or not entirely successful implementation, or these are flaws in the plot. The only thing I know for sure is that it turned out to be a straight line at first and a tangled ball at the very end. And this, my personal opinion, somewhat erases the positive impression. You sit and think: “Why did you have to do something to show this?”. I don’t think I’m the only one who thought so while watching. A more intriguing picture could have been drawn from the plot about the murder of Elizabeth Short. Immediately, all the basic information falls on the viewer like a snowball only at the end.
Would like to see Fincher’s interpretation. I think that his vision turned out to be more intriguing, twisted and unpredictable. And so – you can watch, but 7 out of 10 points and then with a stretch.
June 22, 2012
Akaki
2 reviews, 2 ratings, rating 4
And all the glossy magazines of the world trumpeted about this actress? In this film, she is just a stupid doll, constantly rounding her painted lips. No game, no character. Blondina and only. Against her background, even the masculine Hilary Swank, on whom you just want to put on boxing gloves, looks like a real beauty.
What can you find in Johansson besides plump lips? Her previous performance in “Lost in Translation” and “Match Point” is absolutely leveled. Yes, in fact, in Match Point, she already played mediocre – there is nothing to look at except for her sex appeal. It’s just ridiculous how in this world of gloss they can make an elephant out of a molehill.
It’s a pity for Brian de Palma, he’s really very talented, but alas, something went wrong.
.. After the movie, you get the impression that you’ve been swindled. Disappointment from the acting, the meaninglessness of the actions of the characters, the incomprehensibility of what is happening, the abominations of the plot. And most importantly – why all this, what did the author want to tell us? that the world is shit and people are bastards? Trite.
Or that nothing is unequivocally good and bad, and that the murdered porn actress, called the heroine Hilary Swank, vicious from birth, looks more alive, pure and real than a virtuous housewife prostitute and an honest policeman? Then he succeeded. Because Josh Hartnet and Scarlet are just disgusting.
October 14, 2006
Yu Che
25 reviews, 46 ratings, rating 125
Sitting comfortably in a rocking chair, feeling like Agatha Christie, you begin to compose a detective story. You probably will not get a more detailed and professional, specific and unambiguous opinion. The above is really the most capacious parting word to the viewer who is just about to watch the tape.
Brian De Palma, having comprehended why he actually needed to film Orchid, having made sure that he had a budget behind him, decided to work. The relevance of the work is difficult to assess. On the one hand, you, as a true connoisseur of De Palma’s work, rush to praise his unthinkable shots, which, in turn, stand up straight, in the truest sense of the word. On the other hand, you are trying to enter this atmosphere, strongly and meticulously pulled by the author. Guys, you will tell the film crew and Brian to boot, this is NOT FORTY! The only thing is that both as a connoisseur and as a layman you do not have an unambiguous feeling. And with the thought peculiar to our soul, you think: “Without half a liter here, guys…”
Lack of intrigue and inability to start and spin this intrigue puts the viewer in an awkward position. It seems that old Brian has two heads instead of one. And these are not two sides of the same genius. Just two heads. One is sober. The other is not.
The result is a product randomly planed by two heads in turn. And the “sober” De Palma had only the last word: “Cut!”
October 3, 2006
Jules
18 reviews, 21 ratings, rating 14
5
Very strange, but the film, despite its ambiguity, did not leave any emotions…
It was not terrible! It was not disgusting! It wasn’t funny either!
What happened?
It was interesting to find out who the killer was! I liked the solution .. And in vain everyone writes that the intricacies are little understood – everything is clear as daylight.
Watched a movie from 21.00, many slept in armchairs. The picture is beautiful, outfits, America of the 40s …
My diagnosis was that it was possible not to waste time!
October 21, 2006
Alexander Nikolayevich Bezukladnikov
147 reviews, 152 ratings, rating 107
Passing by the Rodina cinema, we decided to watch the “black orchid”. Very nice movie, only the plot is too twisted! Very beautiful actresses, boxing, police, money and of course love.