This one took a but to grow on me, a very eccentric strange comedy that's similar in several ways to the British comedy "Shirley Valentine" which was very unique in its own way. In fact, it's so unique that after a while, you forget you seen this plot before even though "Shirley Valentine" was written long after this. It's a very obscure comedy, dealing with the American wife (Susan Anspach) of a Swedish businessman who is basically suffering from extreme boredom and has a near breakdown as a result, not one that has her in a straight jacket but it's just doing strange things to liven up her life. She is detained at the airport and ends up with a group of rather bohemian Yugoslavians, taken for a night out on the town to their very avant-garde nightclub. There is a very bizarre exotic dance involving a nude performer and a remote controlled tank with a very unique prop attached. Finding life for the first time in ages, Anspach doesn't really want to go back to her banal existence, and who could blame her.
With Ingmar Bergman regulars Per Oscarssom and Erland Josrphson also involved (yet filmed in English), this had me smiling over its delightful weirdness and it's commentary on how normal see is not necessarily right for all people. It's very tongue-in-cheek in its way, certainly not something that everyone could appreciate, but for an art-house film loving crowd, this is an absolute must. It makes me want to explore the mind of its director Dusan Makavejev and see more of his films, and for Anspach, it's the acting opportunity of a lifetime. She really is relishing playing this character whom Shirley V. Would love to run into during her trip to Greece. The presence of an Abba song later used to great effect in "Mamma Mia!" is the icing on this cake.
With Ingmar Bergman regulars Per Oscarssom and Erland Josrphson also involved (yet filmed in English), this had me smiling over its delightful weirdness and it's commentary on how normal see is not necessarily right for all people. It's very tongue-in-cheek in its way, certainly not something that everyone could appreciate, but for an art-house film loving crowd, this is an absolute must. It makes me want to explore the mind of its director Dusan Makavejev and see more of his films, and for Anspach, it's the acting opportunity of a lifetime. She really is relishing playing this character whom Shirley V. Would love to run into during her trip to Greece. The presence of an Abba song later used to great effect in "Mamma Mia!" is the icing on this cake.