Don't Look Down

Don't Look Down is movie in Spanish that takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It deals with the links between life, death and sexuality with no attempt to create controversy or to arouse in the usual sense, but rather to create an atmosphere of magical, dreamy bliss. I found that Don't Look Down can be seen on different levels. What is the storyline?

Eloy (Leandro Stivelman) has become a sleepwalker after the death of his father. When sleepwalking one night, Eloy falls through a window into the bed of a beautiful woman, Elvira (Antonella Costa). He soon finds out that both Elvira and her mother Celia (Maria Elena Ruaz) are spiritual teachers. Ana reads auras and Elvira is an expert on tantric sex and the Kama Sutra. Through spending his afternoons with Elvira, Eloy discovers the confluence of sexuality and mysticism and, in his goal of thrusting 81 times without ejaculation, finds that he can travel out of his body, manifesting in Venice, Paris, and Barcelona among other destinations.

As you can see this is not for most Puritanical Americans, but I thought that it was a decent movie that tackles a very controversial topic. I recommend this movie.

The Aryan Couple

Last night I searched for a serious drama and I found a good one, The Aryan Couple. This well acted movie explores some World War II history that I did not know. It shows that the Nazis allowed some very wealthy Jews to 'buy their freedom and lives' at enormous losses. And the key Nazi, at least in this movie, is none other than Himmler.

Joseph Krauzenberg (Martin Landau) is a wealthy German Jewish industrial tycoon whose fortune is mirrored in his palaces that are more like museums of great art. But in the year 1944 his important steel mills and other major industries are needed by the Nazis and so a plan is hatched to offer Krauzenberg, his wife Rachel (Judy Parfitt) and his considerable family the opportunity to escape death by allowing them to leave Germany for Switzerland and ultimately for Palestine. The only servants the Krauzenbergs maintain are the Vassmans - Ingrid (Caroline Carver) and Hans (Kenny Doughty) - an Aryan couple who in reality work for the Underground and are actually Jews under strong cover.

I believe The Ayrian Couple is suspenseful and uses scenic locations in Poland even though it is supposed to take place in Hungary. Martin Landau is excellent as usual and Ms. Judy Parfitt has the best lines confronting Himmler. I recommend this movie who just enjoy a thriller or one who has an interest in World War II.

Room 314

I decided to move away from foreign films for one night. I selected Room 314 because it was so different from what I have been watching. Room 314 opens the door of an anonymous hotel room where, at different times, five couples navigate critical moments in their relationships. For example, Room 314 looks at unrequited love, suicidal depression, and a booty call gone awry.

As you might expect in a movie about a hotel room, alcohol and sex feature prominently, though mainly as a cover for deeper issues. If this interests you Room 314 is a movie that you may want to see.

Liebes Spiel

Last night I tried my second German movie in one week. I saw Liebes Spiel that stars Maggie Peren, and Florian Stetter. It was one of the few movies that I have seen of late that was not bad and not good. It was entertaining in that it had the single theme of addiction, gambling addiction, in the framework of the developing relationship of the two principal characters. So what is the storyline?

The disoriented EMT Morten (Stetter), by chance, meets Theresa, a slot-machine addict who works a translator. They hookup quickly but their fledgling relationship goes downhill just as fast as a result of Theresa's obsession with playing the slot machines. That is all that I am going to say because it is better not to know any more about this average movie. I only recommend this movie if you are interested the impact of an addiction on a budding relationship. 

Ma Mère (My Mother)

Last night I watched the very controversial French film, Ma Mère. It was one of the few films that I have watched that I thought was both great and terrible at the same time. Subsequently, I learned that Ma Mère is a faithful adaptation of the posthumous controversial, complex, erotic novel by Georges Bataille, who died in 1962. It is difficult to understand this novel in 2013 because the times are very different today. It is even more difficult for Americans to understand a French novel because of the degree to which Puritanism permeates modern American thought. So what is this complex story?

It follows Pierre, an adolescent of seventeen, who adores and idolizes his mother. Unwilling and unable to be loved for something she isn't, she tells Pierre what she's really like: a woman who was raped by her husband at a very early age for whom immorality has since become an addiction. Pierre is undeterred by this and upon the sudden death of his father demands to be initiated into her perverted world. He's ready to go all the way in games that will become more and more dangerous. As attracted to him as to the addictive games, his mother is unable to refuse. 

This is a movie that you are either going to hate or find controversial. If you don't mind watching a movie that looks at graphic sex and incest, try Ma Mère. If not, stay away.

Everyone Else

Last night I decided to watch the German movie Everyone Else, an award winning movie. While I appreciated the fine acting by skilled actors, I found the movie to be somewhat tedious and a bit too long to tell the story. What is the story?

It is the story of Chris (Lars Eidinger) who is a gifted but apparently not very successful architect, and his girlfriend Gitti (Birgit Minichmayr), who works in the recording business. Gritti seems to be generally supportive of his many failed efforts, but you are not sure of this from the beginning. Chris and Gitti are spending a relaxing vacation at his mother's beautiful home on the island of Sardinia. When Gitti begins to off-handedly question Chris's masculinity things become testy between the two. For example, Chris begins to treat Gitti in an ever more callous fashion, trying to prove her wrong by acting in the dismissive and domineering way he assumes "real" men do, and in the way women apparently want them to.

This minimal synopsis of Everyone Else only covers the tip of the iceberg. A very complex dynamic is taking place within this relationship that is not so easily delineated and described. Possibly I need to watch it again to unravel this dynamic, but I won't. This is not a bad movie, but it is one that I did not appreciate. I do not recommend this movie.

Flame and Citron (Flammen and Citronen) 

Recently I very much enjoyed the movie Prague that was directed by the Danish director Ole Christian Madsen. Hence, I decided to watch another one of his films, Flame and Citron. I was not disappointed because it was another excellent movie. What is the storyline?

Flame and Citron takes place in Copenhagen during the Nazi occupation of Denmark.  The movie, based on a true story, follows the red-headed Bent Faurschou-Hviid (Flame) and Jørgen Haagen Schmith (Citron) who are assassins in the Danish resistance. They receive their orders from Winther, who's in direct contact with Allied leaders. 

Flame and Citron develop a reputation for killing Nazi collaborators and Danish spies. As a result their activities place them high on the Gestapo kill list. What is strange is that they manage to celebrate their successes in bars where German soldiers hang out in. Initially things go well and they have many kills, but then things turn sour when others in their Danish resistant group are rounded up and shot. During this time Flame meets a mysterious woman who claims to part of the resistance but is seen with the head of the Gestapo.

Flame and Citron is beautifully filmed and sometimes is haunting and at other times is heart breaking. I think it is an excellent movie. I highly recommend this film if you want to see a different type of World War II movie.

Aein (The Intimate, Lover)

I have been enjoying the Korean movies that I have selected from Amazon Prime Streaming. Last night I watched Aein (aka Lover & The Intimate), a Korean movie that stars Dong-Hyuk Cho and the beautiful Ye-ryeong Kim.

Aein tells the story of two strangers who meet by chance in an elevator.   It follows their journey through the day and night as they discover each other. It reminds me of one of my favorite movies Before Sunrise in its treatment since the lovers are nameless and the entire movie occurs in 24 hours. They do call themselves Boy (Jo Dong-Hyuk) and Girl (Sung Hyun- Ah) as they play the usual courtship mind games: playing coy, being aggressive, and taking turns hitting each other as they fall into each other's arms.

While this sounds like a typical romance movie, it is not! Yes, it has some of these expected elements, but it also explores the accepted idea that people should bond for life when in fact most people would love to have unexpected lovers throughout their long-term relationships.

I recommend this movie.

The Ring Finger

The Ring Finger is a French film based on a story by the Japanese novelist Yoko Ogawa. It is an extremely complex surrealist-type film that will require many hours of thought long after the film ends. I am even considering watching The Ring Finger again. It stars the very beautiful Ukrainian-born actress Olga Kurylenko who I just saw in the movie In the Wonder.

Now I will attempt to give you an idea of the complexity of this film. 

The film follows a lonely young lady, Iris (Olga Kurylenko). In the first scene we see her working on an assembly line in a bottling factory at a major seaport. She doesn't see a broken bottle and badly cuts her ring finger.

We next see Iris renting a room at a seaport hotel for sailors and then taking a job as a receptionist in a bizarre laboratory where she assists with the screening of people who wish to preserve things of value. The pale-faced laboratory owner (Marc Barbe) is authoritative, austere, and abrupt. The office is in an old building with lots of rooms and was once a girl's school.  The "specimens" are preserved in many of the rooms of this building.

As time passes, the owner becomes interested in Iris, then attentive, and finally possessive. Iris allows herself to succumb to his wishes and becomes his lover. This confirms the depth of her deprived emotional needs. Incidentally, as part of their "contract" he insists that she wears a pair of high-heeled red shoes--always.

What you now know only sets the scene of this movie.  Over the course of the movie you see a young sailor who shares the hotel room where she lives. He is there during the day and she is there during the night. We also meet an old rasta client who works as a shoe shiner. He is impressed with Iris's red shoes, but warns her that the red shoes are cursed, and she should not wear them too often. Additionally Iris finds that two older women live in the building. One is the former switchboard operator of the girls school who casually mentions to Iris that her predecessors in her job suddenly disappeared without a word. Also throughout the movie a young boy stares at her through windows. Who is he and why is he there?

One scene near the end of the movie has great meaning but it escapes me. After returning to the lab she accidentally drops a client's mahjong set, and, on the director's instruction, spends the rest of the night slowly picking up the pieces and reassembling them in their rightful place. Accepting her fate, she takes off the shoes, and walks into the basement where only specimens are permitted. I will not say what then happens. I have no idea what it means. 

As you can see this is an interesting and complex movie. I highly recommend this movie if you are intellectual who will attempt to understand a surreal movie.

Be With Me

I am back on track with my movie selections. Be With Me is an exceptional, unique movie that takes place in Singapore, a city that I love.

Be With Me poetically explores the desires of people to seek love and avoid being lonely. This is accomplished with four different story lines that are loosely linked. First, we see an elder shopkeeper who deals with the death of his wife. Second, we are introduced a fat awkward guy who secretly admires an attractive business lady, and, finally, we follow two high school girls who fall in love. Through these three groups of seemingly unrelated people from different walks of lives, the picture shows us how universal and powerful the longing for love really is. Then the film cuts into its fourth, documentary, element about Theresa Chan, whose real life autobiography is the inspiration of this film. Theresa Chan became deaf and blind since the age of fourteen. In the film, Theresa Chan (who plays herself) makes her life joyful while she has an impact of the lives of others. Eventually we find how she is connected to the people in the other three story lines.  The cinematography of this film is excellent, perfect for showing the feelings of the people and their place in Singapore. Finally, it is a film with minimal dialog. This 93-minute film has only has a few minutes of dialogue. 

I highly recommend this film.