The Territory (1981 film)

The Territory
File:The Territory film poster.jpg Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Raúl Ruiz
Produced by	Paulo Branco Roger Corman
Written by	Raúl Ruiz Gilbert Adair
Starring	Isabelle Weingarten Rebecca Pauly Geoffrey Carey Jeffrey Kime Paul Getty Jr.
Music by	Jorge Arriagada
Cinematography	Henri Alekan Acácio de Almeida
Edited by	Claudio Martinez Valeria Sarmiento
Release dates	15 September 1981 (1981-09-15) (Portugal)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	Portugal
Language	English French

The Territory (Portuguese: O Território) is a 1981 Portuguese philosophical horror film directed by Chilean filmmaker Raúl Ruiz about two American families who resort to cannibalism shortly after getting lost on a camping trip in the South of France. The film, about the animalistic nature of humans when they disregard their "civilized" instincts, obliquely addresses themes of "exile and crossing boundaries: of language, nation and morality".

Cast

• Isabelle Weingarten as Françoise, Jim's partner
• Rebecca Pauly as Barbara, Peter's partner
• Geoffrey Carey as Peter, Barbara's partner
• Jeffrey Kime as Jim, Françoise's partner
• Paul Getty Jr. as Guide, uncle to Linda's daughter
• Shila Turna as Linda
• Artur Semedo as Indefinite man
• Camila Mora as Young girl
• Ethan Stone as Young boy, Françoise's son
• José Nascimento as Prawler
• Duarte de Almeida as Indefinite man's friend, found in the territory as a man lost for much longer than them
• Rita Nascimento as Linda's daughter

Production

The circumstances in which the film was produced, and the extent of Corman's involvement, are somewhat mysterious, co-writer Adair claiming that the film was made under "hair-raising conditions" in Sintra. The production's budgetary difficulties inspired New German Cinema director Wim Wenders to make the Golden Lion-winning The State of Things (1982) with much of the same cast and crew.

Reception

Stephen Holden from The New York Times called it "an odd little art film that has the feel of a European version of an episode of The Twilight Zone." Dennis Schwartz of Ozus' World Movie Reviews awarded the film a grade B+, calling it "Deliciously subversive".

External links

• The Territory at AllMovie
• The Territory at IMDb
• The Territory at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Territory at the TCM Movie Database