Flirt

Definitely an Art movie, sort of the anti-Rashômon: three different events described as if they were the same. Obviously such a film foregrounds the direction, and the dialog is recognizably Hartleyesque.

Hal Hartley weaves the same dialog through three only roughly similar stories given by their settings, the characters involved, and the cinematic treatments different meanings.

An art film about how films make art out of life. Or something.

Warning: if you lack intellectual curiosity (it's definitely not for the passive viewer) or are homophobic this will push your buttons; hence the 1-out-of-10 ratings above.

I really liked this movie, and I enjoy it more and more each time I see it (and it says something that I went out and bought it after one viewing, just so I could watch it again and again). On one level, it's just a lot of fun, very insightful, wittily written and playfully acted by a great cast. On another level, it's also quite poetic, obviously made with a lot of love, and structurally speaking, an incredibly well-executed work of art- perhaps too artsy for some people. I would have to say that Hal Hartley is my favourite film maker, indie or not, and of his movies, this is probably one of the best and most accessible. He'll probably never be mainstream, but that's not a bad thing- it's partially the individuality of his work that makes it so unique, so honest, and so damn good. FLIRT is a fine, fine example.

The same story told three times in three countries but with different characters and culture values. Hartley goes for the Godardian style but without the political cheekiness. Nice to see Hartley try his hand at something a little different.

It's three movie segments using the same story. One takes place in New York, another in Berlin, and the last one in Tokyo. In New York, Emily (Parker Posey) is leaving for Paris and her partner Bill is wondering if he should hook up with someone else. He gets shot in the face by the other woman's husband. The same story repeats in the other cities.

Hal Hartley is trying more stuff. It has his mannered speech and peculiar shooting style. The big idea here is repeating the same story three times. It's a big idea more than a film. I'm not sure what it achieves unless the movie makes them completely different like doing it in Japanese. Experimentation is important and I'm glad that he tried even if it doesn't achieve anything great.

The idea of transporting a story and telling it in three continents is an intriguing one. What we have in Flirt is a weak New York story which verges on the ridiculous when transported to Berlin and Tokyo, particularly when it comes to handgun ownership.

The similarities are unsubtle and contrived, and you feel the actors, who do well in this, are fighting a very stilted script.

Maybe if Hal Hartley had spent more time exploring the differences in how the story would play in different cultures and less time making ‘high quality titillation' (his own description) then it might have made it a better viewing experience.