I came here looking for more well-handled, touching portrayals of prostitution. Breaking the Waves is my favourite film in this regard. What I experienced in this film was a total lack of emotion, which of course can sometimes be very effective, but here it just felt - limp and boring. The most emotion portrayed is by the guy clowning around pretending to blow up a balloon, who has screen time for like, one minute. All the other characters are just so dull. To me there is no 'descent' tracked emotionally... nothing to connect us with her internal world or how she is impacted by the changes in her life. It¨s just so bland. There's a fair amount of philosophical discussions, and I can enjoy that greatly in a film, but even these feel bland; the characters themsevles don't seem to feel engaged or riveted by what they're discussing. It's all just a bit cool and off-hand.
The camera work is great, I loved the shots just seeing the backs of the protagonists' heads... but there is next to nothing gripping or touching about this film. Comme ci comme ca. I get that this film was boundary-breaking in it's time in terms of cinema making, but that's not what drew me here. Reading the positive reviews I am reminded of standing in an art gallery looking at an over-priced dot mark on a page, surrounded by 'oohs' and 'ahhs'. For me this was just a disappointment. So, if you're here because you are studying the art or history of cinema, you're gonna appreciate some aspects. If you're here for an insightful portrayal of what it means to be a woman in the world of prostitution, I'm not convinced you'll find anything here.
One star for the pacing, one for the art of the camera work, and the last plus point for me is that there isn't any storyline-irrelevant, objectifying sexualisation directed towards the spectator's gaze. At least someone got that right, and in the sixties too. For that I tip my hat.
The camera work is great, I loved the shots just seeing the backs of the protagonists' heads... but there is next to nothing gripping or touching about this film. Comme ci comme ca. I get that this film was boundary-breaking in it's time in terms of cinema making, but that's not what drew me here. Reading the positive reviews I am reminded of standing in an art gallery looking at an over-priced dot mark on a page, surrounded by 'oohs' and 'ahhs'. For me this was just a disappointment. So, if you're here because you are studying the art or history of cinema, you're gonna appreciate some aspects. If you're here for an insightful portrayal of what it means to be a woman in the world of prostitution, I'm not convinced you'll find anything here.
One star for the pacing, one for the art of the camera work, and the last plus point for me is that there isn't any storyline-irrelevant, objectifying sexualisation directed towards the spectator's gaze. At least someone got that right, and in the sixties too. For that I tip my hat.