|
 Exotica
is a strange film. Maybe that's because it's Canadian.
No offence intended..
I really like this movie. So much, that I'd write a review of it MANY
years since I first viewed it.
I re-discovered it, let's say.
You might recognize the girl from The Crow 2 or one of the guys from
"13 Days" (Costner, Bay of Pigs).
Or the guy who carved stuff into the desk from Some Kind of Wonderful.
No shit.
Exotica is the name of the film - but also of a strip club.
Everything important takes place there.
It's not the sort of Bada-Bing club you might imagine.
It's portrayed as - if you can imagine - a romantic strip club.
Early in the film, you realize that there are a lot of relationships.
Everyone you are introduced to has or will form a significant relationship
and/or history.
I don't want to say too much about the story (a weaker point) because
I don't want to spoil it.
A young girl was abducted and killed.
A search party was gathered among the locals to find her body.
Several years later, the father of that girl is absolutely disconnected,
obsessed and forever damaged by the experience.
However, he does connect with one person. They trade in safety.
Did I mention there were boobies?
I know it all sounds pretty intense - and it is.
But - the film is non-linear, and beats the hell out of Pulp Fiction's
famed non-linear structure.
The characters are revealed to you in bits, and you learn a lot from
how they interact with each other.
But, you slowly build an understanding of the relationships and in
the end there is a payoff.
This is a film about characters. And a strip club.
And smuggling exotic bird eggs into Canada.
Honest.
It's a great weird film. And not in that frigging David Lynch sorta
way.
The director, Atom Agoyan has written and directed many films that
are critically respected.
I have not seen any one but Exotica.
Not making it the best, but making it a favorite nonetheless.
IAN - FEB 2
2003
|
