"Swoon" is an enigmatic, sometimes almost inaccessible film that I continue to find oddly emotionally satisfying, even after having seen it at least a dozen times. An intentionally chaotic jumble of images and brilliance, speckled with anachronisms, sly winks at the camera, stock footage and allegorical sound affects, the film functions more like an avante-garde stage play than a typical movie- and yet it remains very cinematic, very engaging despite being occasionally cryptic, and very emotionally powerful- even surprisingly romantic in places- even though there is clearly a satiric and dry bent to the director's vision. Like a good Hal Hartley film, there is an intelligent handling of deep, dark emotions here, and for it's direct but never sensational treatment of massochism and obsession, I am incredibley thankful and eternally enlightened- I sort of wish would-be auteurs of the psychosexual (i.e. David Lynch) would take a cue from this strange but excellent little movie.
Review of Swoon
