Erosion is the best kind of independent film: it takes on the themes that safe, mainstream movies steer clear of, shocks you with its honesty, and leaves you thinking for days to come.
Watching the film, you are dropped into the lives of main characters Gabe and Irene, and left to figure out what's going on-- who is the woman on Gabe's tape recorder? What has gone wrong with Irene's marriage? What brought Gabe and Irene together? Some of these questions have straightforward answers, but mostly you are left to piece things together-- just as in life. Questions of intimacy and mortality are big pieces of the puzzle, which is again just as true of life-- but much less often at the movies.
Along the way to its quietly moving ending, Erosion offers some memorable moments. Yes, it doesn't flinch at portraying sex-- which will undoubtedly not be to everyone's taste, but it's hardly gratuitous and I can't remember any nudity to speak of. More dramatic, though, are scenes like Irene almost literally flirting with Death, and a painfully tense minute at the dinner table with Irene and her estranged husband. Emmanuel Xuereb is effortless as Gabe, and clever tidbits here and there add extra realism: anyone for half a beer and half a tomato juice? Erosion is also unusual fare-- but worth seeking out.
Watching the film, you are dropped into the lives of main characters Gabe and Irene, and left to figure out what's going on-- who is the woman on Gabe's tape recorder? What has gone wrong with Irene's marriage? What brought Gabe and Irene together? Some of these questions have straightforward answers, but mostly you are left to piece things together-- just as in life. Questions of intimacy and mortality are big pieces of the puzzle, which is again just as true of life-- but much less often at the movies.
Along the way to its quietly moving ending, Erosion offers some memorable moments. Yes, it doesn't flinch at portraying sex-- which will undoubtedly not be to everyone's taste, but it's hardly gratuitous and I can't remember any nudity to speak of. More dramatic, though, are scenes like Irene almost literally flirting with Death, and a painfully tense minute at the dinner table with Irene and her estranged husband. Emmanuel Xuereb is effortless as Gabe, and clever tidbits here and there add extra realism: anyone for half a beer and half a tomato juice? Erosion is also unusual fare-- but worth seeking out.