Official synopsis
Nolan Bentley awakens bound to a tree in a distant forest, memory blank. As time ticks away, a cryptic figure emerges. Facing his inner demons, Nolan struggles to escape his dire predicament and unravel the mystery of his surroundings.
Review
Director Marc Schölermann’s Bark (Germany, 2023) is largely a two-hander involving a man (Michael Weston as Nolan Bentley) tied to a tree in a remote area of a large forest and another man (A.J. Buckley as The Outdoorsman) setting up camp next to him. Bentley initially pleads for the stranger’s help to untie him, with said stranger initially refusing to do so. As far as what first-time viewers should know going in, that’s it.
Bark is the type of film for which giving away anything beyond the initial set-up is doing a disservice to new viewers. Suffice it to say that the moral and ethical questions will be raised and left to viewers to decide what may be “right” or “wrong,” among other subjects to ponder.
Weston does excellent work as Bentley, going through a variety of different emotions as a man desperate to stay alive in a state that he has no idea why he is in. The character also goes in and out of lucid, waking states and dreams brought on by exhaustion, adding to the mystery of the story. Buckley is also strong in his performance of an enigmatic presence. Let’s leave it at that to avoid spoilers.
Steve Fauquier’s screenplay gives the actors plenty of meaty dialogue with which to work, ratcheting up mystery and suspense while keeping viewers wondering where things are headed. Schölermann paces the proceedings well, building to a third-act reveal that heightens the dilemmas already in play.
Bark screened as part of Dark Nights Film Fest, which runs October 9-12, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. For more information, visit https://www.darknightsfilmfest.com/.
