Change Your Image
wsterba
Reviews
Unsichtbare Gegner (1977)
A woman seems to believe an increasingly unfriendly world has been invaded by foreign forces
Invisible Adversaries is a very difficult film which requires to some extent an understanding of Vienna and Austian culture. Export loves to offend and most viewers will find her photographic effrontery annoying and give up before recognizing the remarkably consistent themes discussed by the film.
Some of the themes raised relate to the role of art in contemporary society addressed by Anna's photographs that replace real objects in her home and around the city of Vienna. She also interrogates social values by replacing objects and people (such as the baby Jesus) in historical paintings with advertising props such as soap powder and vacuum cleaners (in the style of Hermine Freed).
The larger story relates to whether a woman (who is disturbed by seeing her world becoming increasingly dark and unfriendly) is ultimately insane. Anna's world is clearly one full of discord. Couples (including herself and Peter) are continually fighting and children are shown watching violent activities on TV. The viewer is often subjected to radio broadcasts about the wars and violence of the world, from the Icelandic cod war to events in Vietnam and Cambodia.
Export uses a genuine psychiatrist in the role of psychiatrist to show that our society tends to condone medicating people who see the world as a depressing place. Without spoiling the film, I would like to suggest that many of the events of the film are metaphors that ask us to question why we accept certain behaviors as normal or acceptable. While a bit dated, this film still does what art should do: it leaves us with questions about ourselves and our culture.
Vamp (1986)
Silly, comedic, Vampire flick about the dangers of female sexual predation
Deliciously bad vampire film with strong Freudian overtones! This is the quintessential buddy film and "day gone really really wrong" film. Vamp is worth watching just to see Grace Jones as the tallest, meanest leanest blonde vampire ever! There is no missing the film's satirical message that female sexuality is a threat to sweet innocent young men and their bonding. The plot is thin (Well, no thinner than a Lethal Weapon story): Two young college kids want to impress their mates by providing the stripper for a college party. This leads them to the "bad" side of town, a scuzzy bar and a thoroughly evil vampire nest (in pure Hollywood style) and of course hilarious consequences. Watanabe is a hoot and the film plays on and with all the traditional stereotypes while maintaining a stiff upper lip over plastic vampire fangs and fake blood. Well worth the time to watch if taken with a sense of humor.
A Good Woman (2004)
A woman with a checkered past has a chance to redeem herself.
A European collective production, this film adaptation of Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windemere's Fan" is quite lovely. Wilde's wit is nicely used in an even and deliciously cynical screenplay that still has heart and romantic power. Wilde's plays are terribly contrived, but the writer and director do a marvelous job of keeping the viewer uneasy enough about whether Meg Windemere will compromise her values to insure that the narrative rises above the geometric precision of the baroquely complex plot. Additionally, the camera work is aesthetically complex enough to keep the viewer interested on a cinematographic level and rescue the piece from feeling like a filmed play (a problem common to most film adaptations of Wilde). Costuming is delightful and use of color is vibrant and luscious. Johansson and Hunt do a terrific job with their parts and Tom Wilkinson (as so often the case) completely steals the show! This film moves quickly enough for even the hardened anti-aesthetes and has such clever dialog that you'll be quoting Wilde's witticisms for days.